What’s In a Number – The Real 99%

“A Harvard business prof and a behavioral economist recently asked more than 5,000 Americans how they thought wealth is distributed in the United States. Most thought that it’s more balanced than it actually is. Asked to choose their ideal distribution of wealth, 92% picked one that was even more equitable. A huge share of the nation’s economic growth over the past 30 years has gone to the top one-hundredth of one percent, who now make an average of $27 million per household. The average income for the bottom 90 percent of us? $31,244.”

Now it’s pretty clear from this study that most Americans do not have a grasp on the true distribution of wealth in America.  It is however, patently obvious that most folks would like to have more of it.

Numbers can always be played with and it looks to me like there are several ways to interpret these.  The 99%ers would surely claim that a disproportionate share of the top income has gone to the 1% while in fact it’s actually the “top one-hundredth of one percent.”  Their mantra should really be we are the 99.999%ers.

The facts tell us that a full 90% of Americans have an average income of over $30,000.  While you may say that $30k per year is tough to live on, I would argue that this number is well above the poverty level, reflects someone with a full-time job and many folks today are getting by just fine on this income.  Just put two of these people together and you now have a couple living on $60,000 per year with a couple of kids, albeit without a house.

Unfortunately, it’s going to take a little more effort than just buying a lottery ticket to garner a bigger piece of the pie. The entitlement generation has arrived, aka ”The Occupiers.”

The Real 99%,  made up largely today (25%) by the over abundant (79 million) boomer generation worked hard the last 40 some odd years to secure their retirement today.  Were they entitled?  Did they feel entitled? No on both counts.  Their parents worked even harder for less to build the America we have today, even enduring the Great Depression.

Meet the top 1% of income earners in the U.S today. I’ll bet you’re in there somewhere.  But then again, what’s in a number?

—Chart Produced By Dave Gilson and Carolyn Perot

Related articles

• The Just Distribution of Income and Wealth (wallstreetpit.com)