The widening divide between the haves and have-nots is becoming more visible than ever before.
As societies around the world continue to grow, their economies continue to evolve, and their people continue to strive for a better future, the widening divide between the haves and have-nots is becoming more visible than ever before. In America alone, the top 1% of earners now earn more than the bottom 90%, and the trend has been largely consistent since the 1970s. Meanwhile, the number of impoverished people in the world has continued to grow, with more than 1.3 billion people – that's one in every nine – living in conditions of extreme poverty, according to the World Bank. The root of the problem, according to experts, is that the global economy is based on the assumption that the rewards those at the top are able to earn will be distributed broadly. However, that's not always the case, and the increasing gap between the haves and have-nots is making it harder and harder for the latter to survive. Some have argued that the widespread use of technology has played a role in exacerbating the divide between the haves and have-nots. With increasingly accessible tools that help those at the top generate more wealth, those at the bottom are often unable to keep up. Meanwhile, the costs of living –