I have argued in perhaps 20 or more essays that inequalities of incomes and wealth are far more severe today than they are generally perceived even among enlightened individuals. Such inequalities persist most notably in the United States, but also in 15 or 20 other countries that we refer to as having advanced or industrialized economies. That perception is not merely my opinion, rather it is the conclusion of many polls conducted independently by different reputable groups. Put another way, perceptions can be exaggerated or far less grave than are the real problem underlying issues; nevertheless, perceptions are an important element in resolving many issues. When they are grossly underperceived, few groups or individuals are looking for solutions while the issue of note is growing—even exponentially. But at some point reality must set in. When that happens, many of us are in for one whale of a rude awakening when the unconscionable can be seen with great clarity all around us.

This essay is about the gap between our perception of inequality, and what you and I may infer from that perception. I have restated this conundrum it visual terms of what could be in store mainly for your grandchildren and mine who will be left to deal with the consequences. A few films have already shown various forms of how populations might rise up and fight when action is not forthcoming from the government. Most have unspeakable outcomes showing what humans are capable of doing in order to survive. Visuals often show head bashings, rampant murders, robberies, and survival cloistering, much like anthropologists and others have described that existed in the earliest days of human existence.

It is no exaggeration to say that opulence is associated with extremely high levels of wealth, while squalor is the condition of zero or very low levels of wealth. The first condition is the cause of the second. Today, 3.2 million residents live in the top 10 percent of the wealth curve, while the bottom one-half of the U.S. population (163 million individuals) are in the bottom 50 percent. These two groups comprise the antagonists and the protagonists in storied parlance—with perhaps interchangeable roles after the action begins.

The Basic Issue. Before we invoke those images, here is a recap of the numbers behind this issue stated without hysteria: In the U.S. wealth inequality is such that the top 10 percent hold 90 percent of all wealth. Conversely, the bottom 90 percent hold just 10 percent. In dollar values, the top 10 percent hold $90 trillion dollars of wealth, while the bottom 90 percent hold $10 trillion. This skew is the worst among all the advanced economies, and it is growing worse each day at an exponential rate. In 50 years this inequality gap will be 32 times worse than it is today. That projection is not an idle guess. It reflects the same compound growth rate that has occurred from 1950 until today.

Here is the preceding paragraph restated in different words: The United States has the most unequal distribution of wealth than any of the industrialized nations in the world. This skew (the gap between the rich and the poor) is the fundamental cause of poverty and all its conditions such as crime rates, suicides, illiteracy rates, teen pregnancies, obesity rates, mental health issue, incarceration rates, life expectancies, and hunger. Extensive meta-analyses offer compelling proof of the cause and consequence connections. The U.S. also leads all other countries in each of these conditions of poverty. In order to begin solving these issues, we must go to work in reducing this inequality gap. But, nothing is being done to narrow this gap. On the contrary, all the factors behind it are causing the gap to grow wider, so much so, that it will be 32 times as severe in the next 50 years as it is today. This outcome is unconscionable almost beyond anyone’s ability to grasp. Neither numeric nor verbal descriptions, however, seem to have any effect in raising awareness of the tsunami of devastation that is coming our way. I am now shifting to a visual description that is almost certain to come true .

All Past is Prologue? During the Great Depression of the 1930s, millions of men and some women took to “riding the rails” in search of work so that they might support their families. They traveled as far as the railroads would carry them, while weathering hunger, the law, and the elements. They relied on cunning, daring, and the generosity of others who had enough to share a little of their food or a night’s rest in barns or shanties. Today few are left to know first-hand of their plight, and fewer still who can recount those inglorious days of life at the survival level. These heretofore solid citizens became “hoboes” who had to learn how to survive against the elements, against the railroads, and against each other. Many died heroic deaths with their dignity barely intact when they were unable to beat the odds against them. Their graveless bones are undoubtedly scattered across the far-reaches of our land.

But this is a new age with technology and mobility that provides the means for survival beyond the grasp of those who lived in the 1930s. Might a new era of gross inequality, coupled with hunger and despair, bring on new and even more violent outcomes? I think so.

The Looming Nightmare. Desperate times require desperate measures. In the coming 50 years one person with skills and cunning might barely survive when unemployment and squalor rise to record-breaking heights. But a few hundred individuals banded together would have a much better chance at survival. They would need to collect many different kinds of weapons for protection; they might need to build fortresses for safety; and venture out in clusters of renegades driving SUVs (survival utility vehicles) in search of water, food, gasoline, weapons and ammunition, medicines, and clothing. They would likely take items from other individuals and small groups who were not clustered together, while rendering them immobile who might then survive on foot after stripping them of their belongings and transportation. Or they might just kill them, depending on the mood and the disposition of their leaders, much like what takes place in war today by those who live on the wrong side of history.

Multiply this scenario 10,000 times across the entire land, and you would have the stuff of today’s vivid seers and tomorrows reality checkers. Coordination of movements among bands via radios, with crude codes and other friend-or-foe identifiers would allow for coordinated attacks, and for defensive planning. All ordinances, laws, and societal norms would be abandoned in favor of new survival rules. Moreover, normal business dealings and all friendly trade would come to a virtual standstill. The wealth that was would vanish into thin air. Life as we know it would fall back to the “kill or be killed” level.

I watched a movie on television of this genre a few years ago. As distasteful as it was, I was compelled to watch it to its bitter end. But like many tragedies so overwhelming that our minds blot them from our memories, I cannot to this day recall the outcome. Such tragedies provoke suicides and other post-traumatic stress disorders, commonly called “PTSD” whether from actual combat or not.

And so it is with inequality that is 32 times worse than it is today. That projection lays out there on the horizon, c. 2068. Discount it if you can; call me an alarmist if you will; but you ignore it at your peril. There is not a single public policy, no group or commission with this subject matter under study, and nothing of substance in the planning stage by any person or group that might derail such an outcome.

Waiting is Foolhardy. Solutions to obscured human issues rarely spring up spontaneously. It is highly unlikely that 200 million or more destitute people could ever organize into a single collective body who might march on our capitol and demand action to stop the impending carnage. I once queried the Mensa Society (the high IQ group) and asked if their members had ever discussed this subject, written about it, or even if they knew of its existence. I did not receive a reply. Silence is often telling, if not golden.

Most of us are not Influential enough to elicit others to our cause de jure. Persuasion is also a fleeting gambit. Motivating others to action is an art left only to those with imagination and with a tenacity and verbal skills so gripping that they could move mountains. We might meet such a person once in our lifetimes. I am not that person.

Concluding. And so, I could “kick this can” down the road to nowhere, or out into the path of AuthorsDen readers where there is an outside chance that a few readers will see the urgency of this issue and run like the wind with it. I choose the latter course. Is it possible that a few among the 500 or 1000 readers of this essay who might grasp this issue by the throat, and through the compounding effect of viral messaging, wring its grizzled neck until a lucid answer emerges among a much larger group of enlightened followers? The alternative road of ignorance, apathy, and indifference are the certain way to the end of civilized society as we know it. As I see it, all of our futures are at risk—the rich and the poor—nothing more, and nothing less.

I leave the next step in your hands.