Income inequality costing U.S. on social issues

Not that long ago, the United States was considered the world leader in prosperity, military might, technological advancement and education. Then, around 30 years ago, the American Dream fell off a cliff.
 
Now, the once-powerful U.S. ranks 29th out of 34 industrialized countries for infant mortality and at or near the bottom for life expectancy, access to affordable health care and quality education. It is a world leader, however, in teenage births, mass incarcerations and percentage of children living in poverty, according to the New York Times.
 
According to economists at leading universities as reported by the Times, much of the downslide, including infant mortality, is caused by income inequality, which has increased dramatically as labor lost its power to demand fair wages, and the realization that government and social safety nets weren't secure enough to catch the collapse of the middle class.

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