{"id":6557,"date":"2026-03-26T14:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketspaceinsights.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/americas-wealth-gap-is-growing-and-trumps-policies-are-making-it-bigger\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T14:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T14:36:07","slug":"americas-wealth-gap-is-growing-and-trumps-policies-are-making-it-bigger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketspaceinsights.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/americas-wealth-gap-is-growing-and-trumps-policies-are-making-it-bigger\/","title":{"rendered":"America\u2019s wealth gap is growing, and Trump\u2019s policies are making it bigger"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article is part of \u201cUnaffordable America,\u201d a series examining rising economic inequality in the U.S. and the policies that drive it. <\/em><\/p>\n

How\u2019s the economy? <\/p>\n

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Not bad if you\u2019re rich.<\/p>\n

Demand for luxury yachts and private jets is surging thanks to last year\u2019s tax law. Sales of $10 million-plus mansions are booming as stocks hit new highs. And the wealthy and powerful will get to enjoy a new ballroom for galas at the White House.<\/p>\n

What if you aren\u2019t rich?<\/p>\n

The typical American can\u2019t afford the median-priced home. A new car is out of reach for many, with the average monthly payment exceeding $700. Food banks are seeing a growing number of people skipping meals because they can\u2019t afford groceries, and more middle-class Americans are selling their plasma to make ends meet. <\/p>\n

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The divide between rich and poor in America is the widest it\u2019s been in at least a generation \u2014 and growing. The amount of wealth held by the top 1% increased at more than double the rate of the bottom 90% in the first nine months of last year, according to Federal Reserve figures. At the very top, Elon Musk\u2019s fortune is approaching that of legendary 19th-century businessman John D. Rockefeller when looked at as a share of the overall U.S. economy. <\/p>\n

A variety of factors have shaped the struggles of everyday Americans and fueled the gains of the wealthy: The pandemic disrupted the housing market, making it harder to afford a home. Stocks have surged, driven by enthusiasm over AI. Manufacturing has waned, hiring has slipped and costs continue to rise. <\/p>\n

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President Donald Trump\u2019s policies are amplifying these trends. One year into his second term, his administration has cut programs helping lower-income households while advancing policies benefiting the wealthy and corporations. He\u2019s signed legislation to cut food stamps and Medicaid benefits and put new restrictions on low-income housing assistance and student loans. To cope with higher costs from tariffs, he has suggested Americans buy fewer dolls for their children. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has given billions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy and loosened regulations on banks while easing rules around cryptocurrency, which he\u2019s benefited from personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump talks a lot about the working class, his MAGA base is primarily working class, but if you look at the data, the working class is doing very badly in the second Trump administration,\u201d said Robert Reich, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the Labor Department during the Clinton administration. \u201cThe real growth in the second Trump administration has been in corporate profits and in the wealth of the people at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trump has defended his economic record, referring to concerns over affordability as a hoax and blaming weakness in the economy on Democrats. He\u2019s dismissed numerous polls showing increasing economic anxiety, saying in his State of the Union address in February that he has ushered in a \u201cgolden age of America.\u201d As evidence, he cited rising 401(k) balances, a drop in mortgage rates and lower gas prices \u2014 though gas prices have since spiked after his attacks on Iran disrupted the global flow of oil. The S&P 500, fueled by an AI boom, grew around 13% during the first year of his second term.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s allies argue that, while it may take time, all Americans will benefit from last summer\u2019s tax cuts, with the average refund rising by around $1,000 this year, according to data cited by the White House. They also say that Trump\u2019s still-evolving tariffs will eventually boost U.S. manufacturing jobs, which declined last year, noting announcements by foreign governments and corporations about plans to invest in the U.S.<\/p>\n

A White House official also pointed to signs of improvement, including a lower rate of inflation than in the past several years and wages that are rising faster than inflation. <\/p>\n

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Some economists, including those who have served in past Republican administrations, have questioned whether those improvements will be enough to offset pressures elsewhere in the economy, including from a slowing job market, which shed 92,000 jobs in February across a broad range of industries. <\/p>\n

For \u201cUnaffordable America,\u201d a yearlong series on the causes and effects of rising economic inequality, NBC News asked readers how they were faring and heard from hundreds of people. In interviews and written responses, many described struggling to find a job and afford higher food prices and health care costs, while others said they were benefiting from gains in the stock market and lower interest rates. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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