Critical opinion of the United States- Rich vs Poor

Inequality gap between super rich and poor continues to widen

In the United States the minority rich own the majority of wealth, most often this divide is said to be the 1% versus the 99%. However, this article draws attention to the fact that the top even just the top 0.1% of the population earn more than 1000x what the average American earns. Since the 1980s, the United States' rich have been getting richer, and as a result the poor have been getting poorer. This is due to thousands of people being put out of work, whilst the top earners, whose jobs tend to be in the finance industry, are now earning even more than before the recession. These people also tend to live in major US cities, including New York, Washington D.C, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and Houston, as opposed to the poorest people who tend to live in places such as Detroit, Alaska, Wyoming and Texas and even Las Vegas showing that there is a correlation between household incomes and their place of residence. This can be seen to negate the idea of the American Dream in that the wealth distribution in the US seems to be what determines a persons success in life, based on their opportunities, or lack thereof, because of where they live. 

Is Wealth Inequality the Future of Capitalism?

As the title of the article suggests, and as the article goes on to explain, essentially if America wishes to remain firmly capitalist, the income gap is something that must be accepted. Research shows that it was only when top tax rates were highest, that the 99% bottom incomes began to grow faster, whilst the top 1% incomes grew significantly slower. From this it is evident that is the rich who are essentially in control of the country, in that those who live in poverty, and are homeless are the one's most in need of political support, but are the one's who do not have the means to vote for those who will help them out of the situation. Furthermore, those who have the money are the one's who are able to vote and do have a say as to the distribution of money, and through this they fight to ensure that they do not have to pay more taxes meaning that the income gap will continue to grow.