How did the uneven distribution of the nation's wealth weaken the American economy?

The issue of wealth inequality has been criticized in the United States and around the globe as a destabilizing factor to an economy because it signals the economies disproportionate gains that are going to the wealthiest segments of society. With growing wealth inequality there could also be increasing unemployment, decreases in social indicators, a rise in needed welfare, a weakening of the middle class and other factors that are undesirable towards creating a stable economy.