How the U.S. Is Becoming a Third-World Nation

How the U.S. Is Becoming a Third-World Nation: "Today, distribution of wealth in the U.S. is the worst it has been in a hundred years. When you compare the distribution of wealth across countries, our country is grouped with a lot of third world countries. Third world countries are distinguished by a great divide between a few wealthy and a mass of poor. They are places where a few live in palaces and most people scramble to get food, shelter, and clothing.

Yet most of us don’t see a third world when we look out our windows. We see paved roads, a working power grid, and overall a functioning first world economy. But first world status comes from things we don’t see from our windows: broad public services shared by all classes, shared resources, a social safety net, and a social compact that creates a foundation for long-term development. It comes from a strong middle class preventing the wealthy from getting too wealthy and the poor from staying too poor. To the extent that we have lost and continue to lose these things, we slip into the third world...."