The most surprising statistic regarding wealth disparity in the United States (displayed on p. 29) is likely the reality that the richest 1% of. Americans possess more assets than the bottom 90% combined. This is particularly unsettling because it indicates the extent to which economic power rests in the hands of a privileged few, and the vast majority have far less of a stake in the resources. This degree of disparity may make it essentially impossible for the poor to earn wealth, become debt-free, or receive advantages that the rich simply assume as their due, such as access to good schooling, good medicine, and owning a home.

The impact of such hyper-wealth disparity is staggering. Such a society often has diminished social mobility, heightened poverty, and undermined democratic institutions, since the wealthy disproportionately hold sway over politics and policymaking. In addition, wage stagnation and rising cost of living force the majority of people into debt, unemployment insecurity, and economic worry, while the rich continue to accumulate more wealth and capital. Ultimately, this gap can lead to greater social unrest, economic unrest, and disillusionment with the system.

This process is evident in everyday life in many ways. For example, housing affordability has been a severe crisis in cities across the country, where working-class families are priced out of their communities by increasing costs as wealthy investors buy homes for speculative reasons. Another such example is the increasing educational inequality where wealthier families are able to enroll their children at private school and elite universities while poorer children carry student loan debt and under-funded public education. These daily realities reinforce the ways in which wealth inequality touches nearly every facet of society, from access to jobs to health care and political power.