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Household incomes are growing Upper-income households have seen more rapid growth in income Income growth has been most rapid for the top 5% of families The wealth of American families is currently no higher than its level two decades ago The wealth divide among upper-income families and middle- and lower-income families is sharp and rising The richest are getting richer faster Income inequality in the U.S has increased since 1980 and is greater than in peer countries

The report provides an overview of the changes occuring with U.S income and wealth inequality. It highlights key trends as wealth increases and addresses which groups of people are being most affected.

The COVID-19 pandemic and killing of George Floyd along with other recent deaths of Black people at the hands of police have laid bare stark structural and systemic racial inequities and their impacts on the health and well-being of individuals and communities. While these events have brought health and health care disparities into sharp focus for the media and public, they are not new. These longstanding and persistent health disparities are symptoms of broader social and economic challenges that are rooted in structural and systemic barriers across sectors - including housing, education, employment, and the justice system - as well as underlying racism and discrimination. Amid this difficult time for our nation, the increased recognition and understanding of disparities could provide a catalyst for the challenging work required to address them.

"For, above all, it is the chasm between the rich and poor in our societies and on a global level that Covid-19 has unlocked. The fatal flaw of the Enlightenment - the unfulfilled promise of economic, social and political equality - has opened up beneath our feet. We are not so much as being thrown back into a bygone primitive age, as being thrown forward into a primitivism that is the true essence of twenty-first century capitalism."

The gap between the richest and the poorest U.S. households is now the largest it's been in the past 50 years - despite the median U.S. income hitting a new record in 2018, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

DRIVER-POLITICS Water Politics Limited, a geopolitical risk advisory and consulting firm, found that water scarcity could lead to conflict or political instability in many countries. Sources including the Euphrates, Tigris, Jordan, Nile, Danube, and Okavango rivers as well as the Tibetan watershed and resources will become insufficient to support the surrounding areas. These sources currently provide water to dozens of countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Water scarcity will therefore affect communities across the globe. Importantly, it may spark conflict over remaining water resources, within a nation or even between nations. Anya Groner at The Atlantic points to evidence of past conflicts that have revolved around water. These include the riots in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2012, which responded to inequality in the distribution of water resources.

Is this a recipe for a social uprising fullscale class warfare revolt? Sure, maybe after the next Super Bowl/iPhone/Video Game Release. > Top 1%'s wealth jumped to a record 27% of the total: Fed data shows. > The top 1% represents about 1.3 million households who roughly make more than $500,000 a year -- out of a total of almost 130 million. > The middle 60% of U.S. households by income saw their combined assets drop to 26.6% of national wealth as of June, the lowest in Federal Reserve data going back three decades. For the first time, the super rich had a bigger share, at 27%. > The concentration of wealth in the hands of a fraction of the population is at the core of some of the country's major political battles.