There has never been a time in US history where the wealthy have so much and the rest of us have so little. And by wealthy I’m not talking about those making a few hundred grand a year. I’m talking millions a year, the top 0.1%, the top 0.01%.

What’s more disturbing is that we can’t begin to have a conversation about how to deal with this problem — whether it even is a problem — until we all actually understand the distribution itself. And the reality is most of us only think we understand it.

This amazing video uses infographics to help explain the disparity. I hope you will take six minutes and watch it.

Hank Paulson in a Businessweek issue commemorating the financial crash five years ago:

I get asked all the time, “What’s the likelihood of another financial crisis?” And I begin by saying it’s a certainty. As long as we have markets, as long as we have banks, no matter what the regulatory system is, there will be flawed government policies.

Now, I’m not about to sit here and say that the financial mess was not a bi-product of failed government policies, but to insinuate that Wall Street was complicit, well, that takes balls. It was Wall Street that funneled money to Democrats and Republicans across government with the express intention of loosening regulation. It was Wall Street that played fast and loose with other people’s money, as always. It was Wall Street that fell under its own weight and then begged the government to bail it out.

Paulson’s policies failed the American public by propping up Wall Street. The banks should have been allowed to fail. Government should have then bailed out the American public. You know, those of us it exists to support: A government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Paul Graham writing on investment trends:

When I graduated from college in 1986, there were essentially two options: get a job or go to grad school. Now there’s a third: start your own company. That’s a big change. In principle it was possible to start your own company in 1986 too, but it didn’t seem like a real possibility. It seemed possible to start a consulting company, or a niche product company, but it didn’t seem possible to start a company that would become big.

What do you mean by “graduate from college?” With the price of college education skyrocketing and the costs to start a company shrinking, which will potential students opt for? I sure wouldn’t bet on college.

I started Infinity Softworks while I was a senior in college. When I graduated in 1997 what I did — starting a company right out of school — was very unusual. I was weird. Now people don’t even blink, at least not among the under 50 crowd. Now it strikes me as odd when a smart kid graduating from college opts for a big, established, brand-name company. What? Couldn’t start your own company?

This might be the most thought-provoking video I’ve ever seen on politics and money. Ugh! Politics, you say? Why are you talking about that here? Well, it is critical. Maybe you don’t like it but it shapes all of our lives and we better start working toward a better model than we have now.

Lawrence Lessig does an incredible job of explaining the current situation and how we can fix it. Take 18 minutes and watch it. You won’t regret it.