Wealth Inequality in America Today
“The issue isn’t that the system is broken. It’s that it’s working exactly as designed—for the wealthy few.”
America likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity, where hard work pays off and each generation can rise above the last. But for millions of people, that story no longer rings true. Instead, a different reality is taking hold—one where wealth is concentrated in fewer hands than at any time since the Gilded Age, and where the vast majority of Americans are shut out of the prosperity they help create.
A Nation of Growing Gaps
Over the past four decades, wealth inequality in the United States has exploded:
The top 1% of households now own more wealth than the bottom 90% combined.
The median Black household owns about one-tenth the wealth of the median white household.
The top 10% control over 89% of stock market wealth, while half the country owns no stock at all.
This isn’t just about billionaires flying to space or buying up islands. It’s about the cost of living outpacing wages, young people burdened with debt before their lives begin, and entire communities shut out of wealth-building opportunities like homeownership and higher education.
How Did We Get Here?
This didn’t happen by accident. Since the 1980s, a series of policy choices have tilted the playing field:
Tax cuts for the wealthy shifted the burden onto working families.
Union power was dismantled, lowering wages and job security.
Public services were privatized or underfunded, turning basic needs into profit centers.
Education and healthcare costs skyrocketed, trapping people in debt.
Meanwhile, wealth multiplies for those who already have it, through stock gains, property appreciation, and inheritances.
The result is a society where mobility is shrinking, resentment is growing, and faith in democratic institutions is crumbling.
Inequality Is More Than Just Unfair—it’s Dangerous
When people feel like the system only works for the rich, they stop believing in the system. That’s where we are now:
Trust in government is near historic lows.
Many Americans believe their children will be worse off than they are.
And increasing numbers are drawn to authoritarian promises of order, strength, and a return to greatness.
This isn’t just an economic problem. It’s a political one. And if we don’t address it, inequality could become the wedge that breaks democracy apart.
What Comes Next
Over the next six days, we’ll explore how wealth inequality has fueled authoritarianism in history, why strongman regimes fail to fix the problem, what real redistribution has looked like when it has worked, and what bold but realistic steps the U.S. can take to reverse this crisis.
Because the truth is: inequality is not inevitable. It’s a choice. And so is what we do about it.