What is the percentage of rich to poor in the US?

The top 20\% of Americans owned 86\% of the country’s wealth and the bottom 80\% of the population owned 14\%. In 2011, financial inequality was greater than inequality in total wealth, with the top 1\% of the population owning 43\%, the next 19\% of Americans owning 50\%, and the bottom 80\% owning 7\%.

How can we solve the gap between rich and poor?

Typical government initiatives to reduce economic inequality include:

1. Public education: Increasing the supply of skilled labor and reducing income inequality due to education differentials.
2. Progressive taxation: The rich are taxed proportionally more than the poor, reducing the amount of income inequality in society.

What caused the wealth gap in America?

Income inequality, housing policies, limited educational opportunities, and a lack of support structures are some of the factors that contribute to the gap. Data reveals a growing gap, since the Civil Rights era in the 1960s, in the median wealth across race and ethnicity in the United States.

What is the average American doing without these things?

One, the average American now goes without these things. That’s because they’re largely unavailable. For example, the fresh food that I can get on any block in Europe is simply absent in huge chunks of the States. You buy processed food, or you don’t get food. The same is true of many, many things, like, say, education, or income.

Why don’t we fix America?

The answer is: nothing does. More of this does: a slow, shocking collapse and descent. Because there’s no other option, choice, alternative. Nobody much has the money for one. You see, if I say to the average American — “let’s fix America.

What would it take to stop the collapse of America?

To stop collapse, America would have to start investing — massively, suddenly, historically — in functioning systems. To stop longevity and health cratering, it needs a healthcare system. To stop happiness and trust cratering, it needs affordable education and retirement.

Is America at a point of No Return?

The economics say that America has more or less almost certainly reached a point of no return now, and collapse is nearly inevitable. To stop collapse, America would have to start investing — massively, suddenly, historically — in functioning systems.