The Year Inequality Became Less Visible, and More Visible Than Ever Even as shared public spaces emptied out, the gap between the economically privileged and the precarious became impossible to ignore. Grand Central Terminal during rush hour as lockdowns began in March.Credit...Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times Dec. 28, 2020 This year, many Americans left the places where it was still possible to encounter one another. White-collar workers stopped going downtown, past homeless encampments and to lunch counters with minimum-wage staff. The well-off stopped riding public transit, where in some cities they once sat alongside commuting students and custodial workers. Diners stopped eating in restaurants, where their tips formed the wages of the people who served them.