On the advent of America’s 250th anniversary, the conventional narrative is that our country is deeply divided. Typical takes on the state of disunity in the United States include this headline from a guest op-ed that recently appeared in USA Today, “America celebrated together at 200. We won’t at 250,” and “We still had a sense of oneness then. We no longer do.” In a related news article, the publication cited major national surveys that “consistently show an anxious nation” and “a divisive president.” These observations aren’t wrong, but the divisions they cite—partisan politics, old vs. young, racial polarization, bitter disagreements over social issues—are missing the biggest source of alienation of all, which is diminished economic opportunity. Fully half of American households report living paycheck to paycheck. And regardless of what progress may unfold to get inflation under control, to date, households are coping with what is now several years of relentless price increases.