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This is what's driving the anger, the radical politics, and the growing racism in our society.You see, while the rich are getting richer, everyone else is losing ground. Look at this chart, which shows how for most Americans, real wages have been stagnant or falling for decades...Most Americans are Getting Poorer:Cumulative change in real wages, by wage percentileSource: Economic Policy Institute.The middle class—the most politically and economically stable part of our society—is disappearing.The foundation of the middle class in America was a long history of consistently rising wages. For millions of Americans, life got a little better, year after year, as the value of their wages increased and our economy grew into the world's largest.But this is no longer happening. Low income earners now make LESS in real terms than they did in 1980! And middle income earners make just 6% more than they made back in 1980. That's an increase of just 0.00172% a year!Can you imagine your boss telling you for 34 straight years that you're never getting more than a 0.00172% raise each year?No wonder people are so angry and stressed.They've been going to work, year after year, but instead of earning more over time, they've actually been earning less, in terms of what their wages can buy.Despite the boom in the U.S. economy and financial assets over the past 30 years—which boosted the wealth and incomes of the wealthiest Americans like never before—average Americans are actually worse off than they were decades ago.And so, they've been forced to borrow more and more money simply to keep up.You can see that in the data—and I'll show it to you below.But I bet you don't even need to see the data. Just think about your friends and people you know, and how much more debt these folks have to take on, just to keep their heads above water.It used to be that most Americans didn't hold debt, outside of a mortgage on their first home. But after almost 40 years of declining real wages, Americans now have to go into serious amounts of debt for just about everything they buy.Americans now have more than $1.5 trillion in college debt, for example. Look at this incredible chart...The Incredible Rise of Student Loan Debt in AmericaSource: Federal Reserve.And it's not just college loans that have soared.Americans also have more than $1 trillion in credit card debt, and more than $1 trillion in auto loan debt—all record highs.It's gotten so bad, 73% of Americans now die with debt... with an average total of more than $60,000!Being in debt is an incredibly stressful way to live. You're in a hole and there is simply no way out. So it's no surprise that deaths by drugs and poisoning for the bottom 60% of American's population have doubled since the year 2000... and suicide rates have doubled as well over the same period.This is incredibly sad—and it's unfathomable that this is happening in the greatest country on earth.Unfortunately, the problem is going to get much, much worse.You see, tens of millions of people in America are desperate. They have no way out. And sooner or later this hopelessness and desperation are going to lead to violent and radical politics.And this enormous political powder keg is leading to THE biggest political event our country has seen in decades. I'll explain exactly what's going to play out in just a second.But first, like I promised above...I want to explain the secret reason why investors and the rich have become so much richer... while so many Americans have become trapped in a cycle of poverty...The Truth About America's Wealth GapThe underlying economic problem in America today is that money no longer flows to everyone equally in the way that it used to.That much is obvious, right? As our country has gotten richer than ever... the income disparity widens every year.But most Americans don't understand why this is happening.And here's the secret:The real underlying cause of our wealth and income disparity in America is that wages are no longer connected to gains in productivity.I know that sounds like economic doublespeak, but please stick with me...If you can grasp this concept, you will be way ahead of 99% of the population, and it will help you make a heck of a lot of money and avoid enormous losses.So let me explain what it means. It's not complicated...You see, back in the early part of the 20th century, economic gains were shared by both owners and workers.Ford—and his employees—got rich boosting productivity. My new book explains why only corporate executives get rich today.Think about Henry Ford.He got rich making the automobile affordable with the assembly line—a huge increase in productivity. And these gains in productivity flowed directly to Ford's employees. Ford made headlines across the nation when he more than doubled his minimum pay, overnight, in 1914.But that doesn't happen anymore. Real wages have declined for most Americans, despite huge gains in productivity over the last several decades.Look at this chart based on research from the Economic Policy Institute, which shows this problem clearly...Productivity Growth vs. Income GrowthWhat's going on here?It's not that computers are destroying our jobs. Or that we've moved jobs overseas.As you can see, back in Henry Ford's days and decades after, productivity—a measure of how efficient we are at producing goods and services—and income gains moved hand in hand.But then, something happened. As the Economic Policy Institute States:"From 1973 to 2016, net productivity rose 73.7 percent, while the hourly pay essentially stagnated—increasing only 12.5 percent over 43 years... This means although Americans are working more productively than ever, the fruits of their labors have primarily accrued to those at the top and to corporate profits, especially in recent years."You'll notice that the divergence begins around 1971... the year President Nixon removed the U.S. dollar from gold.Why is this important?Because paper money printed out of thin air doesn't transmit gains in productivity like real, sound money should.When money is sound and reliable, it doesn't lose value over time. In fact, quite the opposite—it buys more and more, because of increases in productivity and efficiency.But the link between productivity and wages was permanently changed in the early 1970s when Nixon forever broke the link between our dollar and gold.As a result, today our monetary system isn't sound or reliable.Our politicians monkey around with the money supply constantly. They increase the amount of money by huge amounts, in response to demands from powerful groups—especially banks.As a result, the things you need to live a regular life—such as gasoline, milk, housing, and medical care—constantly get more expensive. These prices go up, year after year, even when wages don't.In other words, even though there's been an enormous amount of wealth created by our economy (look at all the huge new houses, condos, skyscrapers... and electronic cars), life for average Americans hasn't improved one bit. The average worker has gotten poorer.Again: That's not because our economy hasn't gotten better.Our economy has boomed through enormous increases in productivity—technologies like personal computers, cell phones, the Internet, RFID tags (for inventory control), gene sequencing, GPS, and fantastic increases to fuel efficiency.You can see these gains in your everyday life.But... on the other hand... everything you need to live and prosper—from food to housing, healthcare to cars and education—has gotten way, way more expensive.Look at the price of a new Ford F-150 pickup truck, for example. It's the best-selling vehicle in America and has been for decades.Price of a new Ford F-150 Since the 1960sSource: NADA Guides via The Drive - Automotive News, Car Reviews and Car TechIn 1969, a new truck was $2,500. But today a new F-150 costs about $30,000 for the base model. For an F-150 you'd actually want to drive, the cost is about $45,000. That's almost an entire year of after-tax wages for the average worker!This all means some folks in America are doing great...Look at the huge increase in the number of American billionaires. Look at how many more planes Boeing is selling... at the cars Ford and GM are selling all over the world... at the way our entertainment industry dominates movies around the world, and at the way our tech firms (Apple, Google, Facebook) rule the Internet.That's been great for investors and for tech-savvy engineers.But what about the average American?These terrific gains haven't impacted most wage earners because the gains in productivity and technology didn't flow through our entire economy the way they should... the way they used to.These gains in productivity, especially the improvements in technology, should have made our currency much stronger... and should have made everything you buy—from Ford trucks to milk—much cheaper.But that's not what happened, as you know.Instead, the cost of just about everything has always gone up. Way up.That's because, no matter how big the gains in productivity are, the government—politicians and their minions at the Federal Reserve—have always created more money.Sometimes they do it by creating a lot of new credit. And sometimes by simply printing trillions of new dollars out of thin air.All of this new money ALWAYS causes prices to rise more than productivity.And this is the big secret the corporate executives and politicians hope you never understand.Because wages are no longer connected to gains in productivity... Over time... there's nothing the average American can do to stay ahead of inflation.So most Americans have been forced to borrow—in a way that is unprecedented in our history...U.S. consumers now have nearly $13 trillion in total debt... the highest total ever, even more than was owed right before the crash in 2007... in order to pay for food, housing, cars, education, healthcare, and other basic expenses.We owe a trillion dollars on our credit cards—which often have interest rates as high as 28%! We've borrowed a trillion dollars to buy new cars—which plummet in value the minute you drive off the lot. And we've racked up about $1.5 trillion for college education with dubious worth.The debt load for the working poor has nearly quadrupled in the past 20 years as a percentage of their income. And this debt can never, ever be repaid.It's this system that dooms every average worker to poverty. And almost guarantees that the rich and the powerful will stay that way.Simply working harder—or working smarter—isn't benefiting employees anymore. On the other hand, Americans who own assets and businesses have seen their wealth soar over the last 40 years.And so we are left with the biggest income and wealth disparity in America in nearly 100 years.For those who have taken on these incredible new debt loads, it's a very stressful way to live. So many Americans today are in a hole. They are extremely stressed out, and there is no way out.And herein lies the problem.This group is growing, and this stress and anger is building... ultimately fueling many of today's biggest issues...The next big crisis is already underway...Protests like the one in Charlottesville were just the beginning. Wait until you see what's coming next in America...It's why you see people rioting in Charlottesville, Virginia...It's why you see massive increases in violence and desperation in cities like Baltimore and Chicago...It's why you see more and more radicalized politics—like resurgent neo-Nazi groups and the rise of Black Lives Matter...It's why you see the tearing down of historic statues, and why according to a recent Harvard study, more than 50% of young people no longer believe in capitalism!It's why we now have the highest-ever percentage of people on food stamps—double the historical rate.It's why in some states, nearly 10% of working age adults receive disability payments!Remember: These uprisings and protests may be nominally about race, or Donald Trump, police brutality, or immigration.But what they're really all about is money, debt, and economics.And that's why we will soon see a dramatic political and economic event, the likes of which we haven't seen in nearly 50 years...Get ready America, the Jubilee is coming...Very soon, millions of Americans will be calling for the government to "do something."Specifically, they'll be calling for a clean slate... to wipe out their debts and "reset" the financial system.The crowds will cheer and march like never before. The violence will escalate. Our politicians will promise this reset of the financial system as a way to a "new and better prosperity."And while it might sound like good news to those who have gotten in over their head—what will really happen is a national nightmare.You see, this idea of erasing debts to reset the financial system is not new. In fact, in the Bible, it's referred to as a "Jubilee."If you're unfamiliar with the term, it comes from The Old Testament, the Book of Leviticus, Chapter 25.A Jubilee in the Jewish tradition was said to occur roughly every 50 years.It was a time for total forgiveness of debt, the freeing of slaves, and the returning of lands. Pope Boniface VIII proclaimed the first Christian Jubilee in 1300.Since then, it's been used dozens of times, when anger among a population hits extreme levels, typically because of an explosive divide between the wealthy and the working class.And very soon, millions will be calling for a new Debt Jubilee here in America.Believe it or not, many are already doing so...Folks like Carmen Reinhart of Harvard University and Stephen Roach of Yale have advocated for a Debt Jubilee in one form or another. So have financial pundits Barry Ritholtz and Chris Whalen.In Congress, more than a half-dozen Jubilee-style laws have been proposed, by folks such as Rep. Kathy Castor and Senator Bill Nelson from Florida.And many of the most powerful left-wing economic "experts" are calling for a Debt Jubilee by name...London School of Economics Professor David Graeber says: "we are long overdue for some kind of Biblical-style Jubilee... it would relieve so much genuine human suffering."The national affairs correspondent for The Nation says we should: "Think Jubilee, American Style... because it combines a sense of social justice with old-fashioned common sense."Paul Kedrosky, a senior fellow at the Kaufman Foundation (a liberal think tank), says: "we need a fresh start, and we need it now... we need... a Jubilee."A Jubilee—which wipes the slate clean for millions of the most indebted Americans and "resets" the financial system—is inevitable.And mark my words:This trend will accelerate. The idea of a Debt Jubilee will become THE leading political issue in the months to come.Today, for millions of Americans, there's no more powerful political promise than a Debt Jubilee. Politicians will soon be promising it all...I will wipe out your debts.I will allow you to start fresh.I will reward all of your bad decisions.I will solve America's massive income inequality.Who will pay for it?You guessed it...You, me, and millions of Americans with pensions, retirement accounts, and other types of savings.Just as in the past, the folks in Washington will disguise this Jubilee under a different name.They might call it a "National Restoration" or "Patriotic Solvency."They'll pass an "Act" like they did in 1841... or invoke an Executive Order as was done in 1933 (Executive Order #6102)... or simply issue a mandate to the Secretary of the Treasury (which they did in 1971).But it all means the same thing. The Jubilee will redistribute trillions of dollars from those who have invested and saved... to those who can no longer pay their debts.What Can You and Your Family Do To Prepare?You see, around the world today, the idea of a Jubilee has become the de facto solution for extreme financial problems... when debts can't be repaid.Iceland used a Jubilee to restructure mortgages that were underwater. Croatia used a Jubilee in 2015 to wipe out millions in consumer debt. Japan is doing the same right now with nearly half its national debt.The idea of a debt Jubilee has become the de facto solution when debts can't be paid. President Trump proposed exactly this after Hurricane Maria.President Trump has suggested a Debt Jubilee for all of Puerto Rico's bond debt after Hurricane Maria.After studying hundreds of years of financial history, I believe America's upcoming Jubilee will strongly resemble the one that took place in our country way back in 1841...Back then, the laws were temporarily changed, so debtors could be discharged of their debts... without the consent of the creditors. Over a period of 13 months... more than 40,000 people wiped away their debts before the act was rescinded.But of course, this time around, the Jubilee won't be tens of thousands of people like it was in 1841... it will instead be tens of millions of people, and trillions of dollars.Now, if you don't think a debt Jubilee is possible in America, you haven't studied U.S. history... and you aren't paying attention to the current political climate...Look at the staggering figures behind student loans alone...Over the past ten years, students (most of whom are young and have virtually no income) have racked up enormous debts, which currently total about $1.5 trillion.Incredibly, that's what our entire federal government owed a little more than 30 years ago.And these debts have ballooned to absurd amounts. The number of students with debts over $100,000 has quadrupled in the last ten years. Most of this money will never, ever be repaid.And most Americans don't realize that the Millennials (who hold nearly 65% of this debt) are now our country's largest generation, outnumbering Baby Boomers.Just think about the political implications...These people have an enormous stake in whether or not a national Debt Jubilee is declared.You see, when the rich—a very small percentage of the population—get in trouble with debt, it's an economic problem.But when the poor and middle class—a huge percentage of the population—get in trouble with debt, it's a political problem.And there will be major consequences...Millions of investors, pensioners, insurance customers, and creditors will lose a fortune.Stocks will collapse. Dozens of companies will go bankrupt.Just one quick example of how this problem will affect EVERYONE in America...Do you remember during the last crisis... the mortgage crisis... how many lenders never bothered to verify the income of people they were lending money to?Some referred to these as "Liar Loans," which allowed borrowers to make up whatever income figure they wanted... and get a much more expensive house than they could realistically afford.Well... believe it or not, the same thing is happening again right now with auto loans.One company I've written about more than a dozen times has made an extraordinary number of these "Liar Loans" for cars. And a recent Bloomberg story says this firm verified the income on only 8% of the loans they made!And guess what...Just like the mortgage crisis of 2008, these loans have been packaged up into what are known as "Asset Backed Securities," and sold to hundreds of mutual funds, insurance companies, investment firms, even state pension plans.The financial lawyer on my research team found more than 120 entities that own these dangerous "Asset Backed Securities."I'm sure you'll recognize the names:JP Morgan ChaseTIAA-CREFThe State of FloridaBlackrockVanguard GroupT Rowe PriceWells FargoUBSPacific Life Insurance CompanyPrudential FinancialHartford Financial GroupSwiss RETransamerica Investment ServicesLondon Stock Exchange GroupDeutsche BankMMM HealthcareMacquarie GroupGoldman SachsInvesco LTDBank of New York MellonEaton VanceRegions BankZurich GlobalPeople's United BankFranklin ResourcesMassachusetts Mass Mutual Insurance.Merrill LynchWhen the Debt Jubilee arrives, the problems with all this bad consumer debt will hit at once.Everyone will freak out.And that's the biggest problem—the uncertainty.No one will know for months how it will all get sorted out. So the markets will react violently.One proposed scenario comes from Rob Johnson, a former banker, who now runs the Institute of New Economic Thinking. He says:"You call a month-long bank holiday for the twenty largest banks, and that holds everything in place while the regulators mark down the assets and see how everybody's losses will affect everyone else."Then you wipe out stockholders, wipe out management, possibly some of the unsecured debt... Once everybody has taken their hit and you've wiped out existing stockholders, then the government comes in and properly, transparently recapitalizes all of them. As these new institutions gain a footing, eventually they can be sold back to the private market."No one can know exactly how it will be done, but through one mechanism or another, the government will seek to reset the financial system... and they will start by wiping out trillions of dollars in bad debt.Car companies, homebuilders, credit card companies, insurance firms, banks, other lending institutions, and any business operating with leverage, will take a huge hit.Stocks will fall considerably. Banks will close. There will be trillions in losses.In fact, at the end of the day, I believe the losses at an institution like Wells Fargo could be enough to start a bank run.Is there anything you can to do prepare?Now look... what I've described to you here—a national Jubilee that could wipe out trillions in debt from irresponsible borrowers, while robbing millions of Americans of their legitimate savings—is EXTREMELY controversial.I know there's sure to be a legion of "experts" who will be trotted out on MSNBC and CNN to discredit.They will say the most outrageous things about me.But I'm not afraid to take on the establishment. I've done it many times before...No one believed me back in 2006, when I said the two biggest mortgage companies in America (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) would go bankrupt. But I was featured in Barron's when it was clear my prediction was coming true.People thought I was crazy when I made similar predictions about General Motors. But again, that's exactly what happened.Few believed me when I said America's biggest mall owner, (General Growth Properties) would collapse. But then it did.And even fewer people believed me when I said oil prices would drop from well over $100 a barrel to less than $40. But again, that's exactly what happened.Just as these events were inevitable, so is America's next Jubilee.Huge losses are coming. Economists know it. Most of the senior leaders in Washington know it too.But what can our leaders do?The crowds are only going to get angrier and more violent.A Jubilee that wipes out the debts of millions of the working poor and resets the financial system, is the only answer.My research team and I have done more work on this subject than anyone else in the financial industry—and we've finished what could become the most important book in America over the next few years.It's called: The American Jubilee, and it explains in great detail how we got to where we are today. You'll learn about the history of financial Jubilees in America and elsewhere around the world.... and what you MUST do to survive and prosper in the years to come.Get the facts for yourself. Learn what you can do now.Porter Stansberry founded Stansberry Research in 1999 with the firm's flagship publication, Stansberry's Investment Advisory. He is also the host of Stansberry Investor Hour, a weekly broadcast that has quickly become one of the most popular online financial radio shows. At Stansberry Research, Porter oversees more than twenty of the best editors and analysts in the business, who do an exhaustive amount of real-world, independent research.