A small group of Americans is now sitting on more wealth than they could possibly know what to do with
BY JOSHUA HOLLAND

While most Americans struggle through this grinding downturn, a rarified few are doing quite well. Corporate profits hit an all-time high last week,and businesses are keeping more of their loot away from the taxman than ever before (while wages, as a share of our economy, reached an all-time low). The stock market is booming, and Wall Street compensation has more than bounced back from the crash.

A small group of Americans is now sitting on more wealth than they could possibly know what to do with.

Consider a product selling in a gourmet store in New York’s tony SoHo district. “Gläce Luxury Ice is a meticulously designed and differentiated ice brand specifically designed for use in premium drinks and cocktails,” reads a pitch at the website of Dean and Deluca. “Gläce Ice pieces are individually carved from a 300 lb block to ensure flawless quality and a zero-taste profile, never contaminating the essence of premium liquors.”

If you’re so inclined, you can purchase a package of 10 of these fancy ice cubes. It’ll run you $75 bucks, or $7.50 per cube (not including “Next Day Shipping to ensure freshness”).

At the same time, New York’s much-abused homeless population is now at Great Depression levels, and according to a 2011 study conducted by the city, almost half of New Yorkers (46 percent) are living below or near the poverty line (defined as making less than 150% of the federal threshold).

As stark as the picture of inequality has become nation-wide, there are a handful of metropolitan areas that have become hyper-unequal. In these cities, the haves have driven up prices on all manner of goods to a degree that it’s becoming all but impossible for ordinary families to live in them.

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Contrast these cities with Detroit, which was once a wealthy city based on solid manufacturing jobs that lifted all boats, but has been decimated by auto manufacturers offshoring their production overseas and then re-importing the goods to sell here at home. Or you could look at a hundred other cities and towns across America that are facing a similar dilemma from the same cause.

As a nation, we lead the developed world in inequality, but that really doesn’t tell the whole story.