solarpunk memes

There's a "yes but" in here. Not saying the wealth accumulation we've seen lately is good, it's absurd and horrible on multiple levels. But a comparison with the Gilded Age is going to be apples-to-oranges and it's not nearly as bad. The difference is the modern government uses far more transfer payments. That increases the income of lower income households, even if wealth is more disparate. The rich also tend to tie most income up in investments, while the poor spend their income more quickly.

The upshot is that if you compare wealth alone, the wealth difference can be deceptively large. Many poor people have a negative net worth. For that matter, many high income people have a negative net worth, like a newly graduated doctor with student loans. It is instructive to look at the wealth gap, the income gap, and income plus transfer payments.