These inequalities have happened in other countries - imperial France or some banana republic - but for 200 years we were the land of opportunity.

We have entrusted our health care system to for-profit companies.

While the United States remains a spectacularly rich country by any standard, we are drifting toward a Third-World-like distribution of our riches. For tens of millions of Americans, the alternative to unemployment has become a dead-end job that doesn't necessarily pay enough to cover basic living expenses.

Suddenly the already wealthy were reaping all the benefits. While other stories held our attention, that trend continued for 30 years.

The only group growing faster than millionaires these days is the uninsured.