The wealth divide is exacerbated by two different types of inflation. While wages are benchmarked against CPI (consumer goods), wealth for asset-holders grows with "asset price inflation" (stocks, real estate), which compounds much faster. Young people paid in cash cannot keep up.

Holding cash is a losing strategy because governments consistently respond to economic crises by printing money. This devalues savings, effectively forcing individuals to invest in assets like stocks simply to protect their purchasing power against inflation.

The primary driver of wealth inequality isn't income, but asset ownership. Government money printing to cover deficit spending inflates asset prices. This forces those who understand finance to buy assets, which then appreciate, widening the gap between them and those who don't own assets.

Decades of currency debasement through money printing have made asset ownership essential for wealth preservation. Since a house is the most intuitive asset for the average person, owning one transformed from a component of the American Dream into a compulsory defense against inflation.

Deficit spending acts as a hidden tax via inflation. This tax disproportionately harms those without assets while benefiting the small percentage of the population owning assets like stocks and real estate. Therefore, supporting deficit spending is an active choice to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

To fund deficits, the government prints money, causing inflation that devalues cash and wages. This acts as a hidden tax on the poor and middle class. Meanwhile, the wealthy, who own assets like stocks and real estate that appreciate with inflation, are protected and see their wealth grow, widening the economic divide.

Government money printing disproportionately benefits asset owners, creating massive wealth inequality. The resulting economic insecurity fuels populism, where voters demand more spending and tax cuts, accelerating the nation's journey towards bankruptcy in a feedback loop.

As governments print money, asset values rise while wages stagnate, dramatically increasing wealth inequality. This economic divergence is the primary source of the bitterness, anxiety, and societal infighting that manifests as extreme political polarization. The problem is economic at its core.

Inflation is framed not just as rising prices, but as a form of secretive theft. Since only a small percentage of Americans own significant assets that appreciate with inflation, the policy mechanistically funnels wealth upward from the working and middle classes to the top 10%, creating vast, systemic inequality.