IMO, we should understand that the USA is a long way from a Laissez-faire economic system. The basic problem is an abandoned Constitution, socialism lite, and crony capitalism.
The one entity most responsible for economic inequality is the government - at all levels, but particularly the federal.
No argument about that. People and groups such as unions were given advantages to buy their votes. As soon as the gov started making it acceptable to not be self-sufficient, there was less of an outcry about the ever-expanding control all governments have over our lives.
Maybe it's an inevitable cycle. Governments get too large and countries too powerful and they fail. When they do so, pockets of civilization will do well with strong local traits, others won't. One can't help but suspect the US is beyond saving. That's why states rights and maintaining the integrity of the US population should've been priorities. With that, more localities will have a chance of survival when it all comes tumbling down.