The trends in wealth and income inequality in the US continue despite improved unemployment and a rising GDP. Since 1980, median household income us up 16% while GDP has risen 154%. The median household income for the 1% is up even more, 190%.
“As of 2015, half of all US income was going to the top 10 percent of earners.” – Mother Jones
As unemployment improves, more people get jobs; but having a job no longer necessarily means a route to income or wealth growth. As the economy has grown, the income and wealth growth from those jobs has disproportionately gone to the 1%.
Increasing income and wealth inequality destabilizes the economy. While the trend is expected to continue to the point that the top 10% will collect 60% of the income, the trend is unsustainable as less money is available to sustain the other 90% of the population. There were no predictions of the timing, character, or severity of the eventual correction.
(Click on the graph for the link.)
Pretending Not To Panic 
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