Economic inequality is now firmly on the public agenda as candidates and voters alike look for someone to blame for stagnant wages, entrenched poverty and a widening gap between rich and poor.
Bernie Sanders blames Wall Street. Donald Trump points his finger at companies moving overseas. Hillary Clinton identifies middle-class families who are working harder but staying in place as the root cause.
While all these factors and others helped increase inequality, they overlook the role of a key American institution that has also helped widen the gap between rich and poor: the Supreme Court.
As my research on economic inequality explains, since the late 1970s and more frequently over the past decade, the court has issued a series of rulings that have benefited businesses and the wealthy at the expense of the working class and the groups that support them. This has, arguably, made it a court for the one percent.