Jed:

As I said, I can only comment on the situation in the UK, and my comments related to that only.  I am sure that you are indeed very much aware of the situation in your community, though since you don't say where it is (the USA is quite large, after all) I obviously can't tell how my point of view might agree or disagree with your own experience.  I wasn't, incidentally, talking about discretionary (I assume that by that you mean what we call "disposable") income, but about the gap between rich and poor: not at all the same thing.  I doubt if people living on the street in America feel much better off than do homeless people here.

Malcolm