Giving Compass' Take:

• This video posted on Futurity features law professor Philip Alston, who details the trend of wealth inequality in the U.S. and how the middle class will be harmed as political power is consolidated by special interests.

• What can we do to address the income gaps in the country? Which policies will be most effective in protecting the lower- and middle-classes against rising corporate influence?

• Here's how to better understand the relationship between philanthropy and inequality.

If the United States doesn’t address rising inequality, the middle class could start feeling the effects in the form of fewer government services, one expert says.

As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston, a law professor at New York University’s School of Law, traveled across the United States talking to a variety of groups, including government officials and people living on the streets.

“What worries me most is that with economic inequality goes political inequality. Political power then looks after its own interests,” Alston says.

Watch the video about how the middle class will be affected by rising inequality by Sapna Parikh at Futurity.