Statistics for the US would also show the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, and the middle disappearing.

What's most disheartening in the States these days is that way too many working middle-class folks want to pretend that they're rich, and therefore vote with and for the very people who are taking money out of their pockets.

Granted, even poor folks in the US are downright wealthy in comparison to most humans around the world and throughout history. But life here requires an absurd degree of wealth; for example, you need a car if you want to find a job.