A shocking income distribution figure acts as a major warning sign for the US economy: the poorest 10% of Americans receive only 1.8% of the total national income, a share less than that received by low-income groups in countries like Bangladesh.
This damning comparison exposes the severity of American inequality, which has led to over four million Americans living on less than $3 a day—a three-fold increase since the 1980s. The nation’s immense wealth is being politically engineered to bypass its most vulnerable citizens.
Policies, including tax favoring the wealthy and cuts to social safety nets, have systematically driven this outcome. This political decision to deepen inequality contrasts sharply with China’s successful eradication of extreme poverty for nearly a billion people.