The most\u00a0surprising\u00a0statistic\u00a0regarding\u00a0wealth\u00a0disparity\u00a0in the\u00a0United\u00a0States\u00a0(displayed\u00a0on p. 29) is likely the\u00a0reality\u00a0that the\u00a0richest\u00a01% of.\u00a0Americans\u00a0possess\u00a0more\u00a0assets\u00a0than the bottom 90% combined. This is particularly\u00a0unsettling\u00a0because it\u00a0indicates\u00a0the\u00a0extent to which\u00a0economic power\u00a0rests\u00a0in the hands of a\u00a0privileged\u00a0few,\u00a0and\u00a0the vast majority\u00a0have\u00a0far\u00a0less\u00a0of\u00a0a\u00a0stake\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0resources. This\u00a0degree\u00a0of\u00a0disparity\u00a0may\u00a0make it\u00a0essentially\u00a0impossible for\u00a0the\u00a0poor\u00a0to\u00a0earn\u00a0wealth,\u00a0become\u00a0debt-free, or\u00a0receive\u00a0advantages\u00a0that the\u00a0rich\u00a0simply\u00a0assume\u00a0as their due, such as\u00a0access\u00a0to good schooling,\u00a0good medicine, and\u00a0owning a home.
The\u00a0impact\u00a0of such\u00a0hyper-wealth\u00a0disparity\u00a0is\u00a0staggering.\u00a0Such\u00a0a society\u00a0often\u00a0has\u00a0diminished\u00a0social mobility,\u00a0heightened\u00a0poverty, and\u00a0undermined\u00a0democratic institutions,\u00a0since\u00a0the wealthy\u00a0disproportionately\u00a0hold\u00a0sway\u00a0over politics and\u00a0policymaking.\u00a0In addition, wage stagnation and rising\u00a0cost of\u00a0living\u00a0force\u00a0the\u00a0majority of\u00a0people into debt,\u00a0unemployment\u00a0insecurity, and\u00a0economic\u00a0worry, while the\u00a0rich\u00a0continue to accumulate more\u00a0wealth\u00a0and capital.\u00a0Ultimately, this gap can lead to greater social unrest, economic\u00a0unrest, and\u00a0disillusionment\u00a0with\u00a0the system.
This\u00a0process\u00a0is\u00a0evident\u00a0in everyday life in many ways. For example, housing affordability has\u00a0been\u00a0a\u00a0severe\u00a0crisis in\u00a0cities\u00a0across the country, where working-class families are priced out of their\u00a0communities\u00a0by\u00a0increasing\u00a0costs as\u00a0wealthy investors buy\u00a0homes\u00a0for\u00a0speculative reasons. Another\u00a0such\u00a0example is the\u00a0increasing\u00a0educational\u00a0inequality\u00a0where\u00a0wealthier\u00a0families\u00a0are\u00a0able\u00a0to enroll their children at\u00a0private\u00a0school\u00a0and elite universities\u00a0while\u00a0poorer\u00a0children\u00a0carry\u00a0student loan debt and\u00a0under-funded\u00a0public\u00a0education. These\u00a0daily\u00a0realities reinforce\u00a0the\u00a0ways in which\u00a0wealth inequality\u00a0touches\u00a0nearly every\u00a0facet\u00a0of society, from\u00a0access\u00a0to\u00a0jobs\u00a0to\u00a0health\u00a0care\u00a0and political\u00a0power.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The most\u00a0surprising\u00a0statistic\u00a0regarding\u00a0wealth\u00a0disparity\u00a0in the\u00a0United\u00a0States\u00a0(displayed\u00a0on p. 29) is likely the\u00a0reality\u00a0that the\u00a0richest\u00a01% of.\u00a0Americans\u00a0possess\u00a0more\u00a0assets\u00a0than the bottom 90% combined. This is particularly\u00a0unsettling\u00a0because it\u00a0indicates\u00a0the\u00a0extent to which\u00a0economic power\u00a0rests\u00a0in the hands of a\u00a0privileged\u00a0few,\u00a0and\u00a0the vast majority\u00a0have\u00a0far\u00a0less\u00a0of\u00a0a\u00a0stake\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0resources. This\u00a0degree\u00a0of\u00a0disparity\u00a0may\u00a0make it\u00a0essentially\u00a0impossible for\u00a0the\u00a0poor\u00a0to\u00a0earn\u00a0wealth,\u00a0become\u00a0debt-free, or\u00a0receive\u00a0advantages\u00a0that the\u00a0rich\u00a0simply\u00a0assume\u00a0as their due, such as\u00a0access\u00a0to good schooling,\u00a0good medicine, and\u00a0owning a home. The\u00a0impact\u00a0of such\u00a0hyper-wealth\u00a0disparity\u00a0is\u00a0staggering.\u00a0Such\u00a0a society\u00a0often\u00a0has\u00a0diminished\u00a0social mobility,\u00a0heightened\u00a0poverty, and\u00a0undermined\u00a0democratic institutions,\u00a0since\u00a0the wealthy\u00a0disproportionately\u00a0hold\u00a0sway\u00a0over politics and\u00a0policymaking.\u00a0In addition, wage stagnation and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10222,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discussion-board-5-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10222"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10946"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10947,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10946\/revisions\/10947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/pol-100-0505-spring-2025-introduction-to-american-government\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}