You are confused about this "As a 1st world developed country, America should have a more even distribution of wealth between social classes." The U.S. is not a 1st world developed country, it is more like one of the BRIC's, a 2nd world developing country. Large developing countries like Russia, China, India, Brazil and the U.S. have large disparities in income and strong divisions by class. They are governed by an elite ruling class and have only a fig leaf of democracy.

TEK