Without any non-anecdotal evidence to support this opinion, I think the idea that inequality is bad/worse/has any effect whatsoever on the day to day lives of most Americans is yet another case of the chattering classes just getting America wrong.

If you are writing for a major publication, odds are very good you went to an upper-tier college, where the frat boy jackass down the hall from freshman year now works for Morgan Stanley and has a doorman apartment in the Village while you pack in to your studio with a view of the building behind you. And the other guy down hall from you, the nerdy math kid who didn't appreciate your Renaissance-worthy discourse at parties? He just bought into a co-op on the UES.

I think our "inequality" problem is more an issue of good ol' fashion "prep" school resentment, than anyone is ready to admit.