The Truth
Not Left vs. Right - It's The Top Few vs. All The Rest Of Us
The System No Longer Serves the People
Productivity Up, Wages Flat
Since the late 1970s, American workers have generated far more economic value, but the benefits haven’t flowed back to them. From 1979 to 2020, productivity in the U.S. grew by 62.5%, while typical worker compensation rose just 17.5% after inflation. In other words, workers are doing almost twice as much, yet being paid only a fraction more. The gap between productivity and pay reflects a fundamental breakdown in how prosperity is shared.
(Source: Economic Policy Institute)
Wealth Inequality at Historic Levels
The concentration of wealth is staggering. The top 1% now own 31% of all U.S. household wealth, the top 10% control nearly 70%, and the bottom 50% hold only about 2.5% - collectively. This means that half of Americans combined own less than a fraction of the richest handful of families. The wealth gap hasn’t been this wide since the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, a period infamous for extreme inequality and political corruption.
(Sources: Federal Reserve, Inequality.org)
Income Gaps Continue to Widen
The story of income is equally unequal. In 1979, the bottom 90% of Americans took home nearly 70% of national income. By 2021, their share had fallen to 58.6%, while the top 1% doubled theirs to nearly 15%. Wages for the top 1% have soared by over 200%, while the bottom 90% saw increases of under 50%. Even among the top 10%, most gains are skewed to the very top. This hollowing-out of the middle mirrors what many families feel: more work, less security.
(Source: Economic Policy Institute)
The Squeeze on Ordinary Families
At the same time, the cost of living has exploded. Housing prices have grown more than 160% since 2000, outpacing income growth. College tuition has more than tripled since the 1980s, leaving Americans with over $1.7 trillion in student debt. Healthcare costs consume nearly 20% of GDP, with medical debt being the leading cause of personal bankruptcy. Today, 63% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, while wealth at the top compounds endlessly through investments and tax advantages.
(Sources: Pew Research, Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances)
How Policy Reinforces Inequality
This imbalance isn’t accidental—it’s designed through policy. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, pharmaceutical giants, Wall Street, and energy companies pour billions into lobbying. In 2023 alone, corporations and interest groups spent over $4 billion lobbying lawmakers. Tax laws favor capital gains over wages, union power has been weakened, and campaign finance rules (especially after Citizens United in 2010) allow nearly unlimited corporate political spending. These dynamics tilt the playing field toward those who already hold wealth and influence.
(Sources: OpenSecrets, Public Citizen)
Divide and Distract: The Politics of Blame
Instead of focusing on inequality, public debate often scapegoats other groups. Politicians and media outlets fuel division by blaming Democrats, Republicans, immigrants, transgender individuals, DEI advocates, or the unhoused and mentally ill for the country’s struggles. But these groups are not responsible for stagnant wages or skyrocketing housing costs. The real driver of economic hardship is the deliberate funneling of wealth upward, as corporations and billionaires maximize profits while suppressing wages and shaping government rules to their benefit.
(Source: World Inequality Database)
A Rigged System, Not a Broken One
What we see today isn’t a system failing accidentally—it’s a system working exactly as designed, but only for the wealthy few. With corporations writing laws, billionaires capturing outsized gains, and everyday workers squeezed on all sides, the American Dream is increasingly out of reach for most families. Unless we rebalance wealth and power—through fairer taxation, stronger worker protections, campaign finance reform, and limits on corporate influence—the gulf between the top 10% and the rest will only grow wider, threatening both democracy and social stability.
Once democracy is compromised, the door is then left wide open for authoritarian rule.
The Solution
We divest from "the system" while building a civic force and parallel systems that rivals the rigged system. Big corporations have sold us the illusion of convenience while quietly consolidating power, crushing small businesses, eliminating competition and stripping communities of independence. The true cost of this is becoming apparent and the results are staggering.
We must unite under a shared vision and language to bring forth a massive cultural shift. A shift that reclaims our dollars, our labor, and our resources and returns it to where they belong: our communities - not corporate America. By rebuilding local systems—economic, social, and cultural—we become less dependent on corporations and more resilient to their exploitation. The stronger our communities, the weaker the system becomes.
