The top 50% of earners make almost all of the money. Business Insider One of the most challenging and important issues in the U.S. right now is the rise of income inequality.

The country's highest earners are taking home a bigger percentage of the national income than ever before.

This trend is hurting the economy — because the middle class consumers who spend most of the money in the economy don't have much money to spend. And middle-class folks are understandably frustrated about that.

At the same time, in part because of this rising income disparity, the country's highest earners are paying the lion's share of the nation's income taxes.

The highest earners are understandably frustrated about that.

It's easy to hear all the talk about inequality and taxes without being able to visualize this. So, last year, BI's Eric Platt and I put together some charts to illustrate it.