OPINION/By Karen S. Hartgrove

While watching CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning, I was intrigued by a statement from the CEO of Palantir software company that Americans are only well off and safe if they have money…

In a country built on the promise of equality, safety and security should be basic rights—not luxury items. Yet in modern America, those ideals increasingly belong only to those who can afford them. From health care to housing, legal protection to daily peace of mind, money has become the deciding factor between stability and survival.

The Vanishing Middle Ground

For generations, Americans believed that hard work could buy stability—a home, health coverage, and a measure of comfort in old age. That belief is fading fast. The cost of living outpaces wages, medical expenses crush families, and one unexpected bill can unravel years of effort. According to the Federal Reserve, nearly four in ten Americans would struggle to pay a $400 emergency expense. In the world’s wealthiest nation, that statistic reads like an indictment.

Key Statistics: America’s Financial Divide

• 21% of Americans have no emergency savings at all.
  Source: Empower

• 37% of Americans say they couldn’t afford an unexpected expense of just $400.
  Source: Empower

• Only 41% of Americans say they could use savings to cover a $1,000 emergency expense.
  Source: FOX 9 Minneapolis–St. Paul

• The bottom 50% of U.S. households hold less than 4% of the nation’s wealth, while the top 10% hold more than two-thirds.
  Sources: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

• The top 1% of households hold roughly 35% of all U.S. wealth.

Health and Housing: Safety for Sale

Access to safety is often determined by one’s income bracket. Those with money live in neighborhoods where police respond quickly, roads are repaired, and schools are secure. Those without often face the opposite reality—underfunded schools, aging infrastructure, and limited access to emergency services.

Health care paints an equally stark picture. For those with comprehensive insurance or deep pockets, preventive medicine and specialized treatment are routine. For millions of others, illness means debt, delayed care, or worse. The pandemic revealed how deeply class divides shape survival itself: wealthier Americans could work from home and recover privately, while working-class families faced greater risk and fewer resources.

The Price of Justice

Even the legal system tilts toward wealth. A well-funded defendant can hire skilled attorneys and navigate the system to minimize harm. Those who cannot afford representation often face life-altering penalties for minor offenses. “Equal justice under law” sounds noble in marble, but in practice, it too often depends on what’s in one’s wallet.

By the Numbers: The Cost of Inequality in Justice

• 90–95% of criminal convictions in the U.S. are resolved through plea bargains rather than full trials.

• Less than 3% of federal cases actually go to trial.

• Pre-trial detention—often the result of being unable to post bail—increases the chance of pleading guilty by 46%.

• In large state courts, about 97% of convictions come from plea deals, not jury verdicts.

• Households with an incarcerated family member are 40% more likely to have under $50,000 in total assets.

• Black and Latino individuals lose up to $510,000 in lifetime earnings, on average, after incarceration.

Why It Matters

When only the wealthy can truly feel safe, democracy begins to fracture. People lose trust in institutions that no longer seem built for them. The poor grow cynical; the middle class, anxious; the rich, isolated. The sense of shared destiny that once defined America weakens, replaced by walls—both literal and economic—that separate us from one another.

What Comes Next

Safety and security should not depend on income. They require renewed investment in public systems—affordable housing, accessible health care, fair wages, and equitable law enforcement. These are not acts of charity; they are acts of preservation, meant to restore faith in the idea that America protects all its people.

Until that promise is restored, one uncomfortable truth remains: in America today, money doesn’t just buy comfort—it buys safety.

Palantir is a software company that specializes in data analytics and artificial intelligence platforms for both government and commercial clients

The views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Parish Journal, its staff, or its ownership.