Rich vs. Poor: A Binary

The middle class and its influence has gotten smaller in 40 countries for every generation since the baby boomers, and the living standards of the middle class have lowered in the past 30 years. As the middle class disappears on a global scale, people are forced to gravel between poverty and wealth because there is increasingly no in between. Even wealth is no longer allowing for a spectrum, it is becoming a binary that is created by those in power. Companies are increasingly becoming rich and allowing for the rest of the population to become poor. The wealthiest 1% possess 40% of the nation’s wealth; the bottom 80% own 7%. (CNBC)  The utopian desires of the rich become more clear as the middle class disappears, to have a world where only some are successful and it is nearly impossible for the rest to succeed. As our society becomes more binary there is less hope among average citizens, the American dream is something that you essentially have to be asleep to believe, and this binary way of thinking translates to the everyday actions of citizens. White people often blame immigrants or colored people for “stealing their jobs” when they are unable to succeed, while the cause is actually a side effect of the binary system that the rich and powerful have created to stay in control and in power, while everyone else has no chance of success.