Inequality in America

Inequality in the United States is at its highest level in a half-century, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The richest 0.1 percent of households owns between 15 and 20 percent of all U.S. wealth, while the bottom half owns just 1 percent. But this wealth gap is only one part of the problem, economists say. Inequality also extends to education, with the poor lagging the more affluent in academic achievement, and to regions, where high-tech centers are leaving behind areas dependent on agriculture or manufacturing. The coronavirus pandemic, meanwhile, is sending unemployment soaring and is widening the gulf between the haves and the have-nots. Conservatives and liberals agree that inequality exists, but differ sharply about what should be done. Democrats propose raising taxes on the rich, expanding health insurance for the poor and spending more on public education at all levels. But conservatives say inequality is a natural byproduct of a prosperous free-market economy and warn that wealth taxes would harm growth and ultimately hurt workers.