When people gripe about “the 1%,” do they even know who that is? Income mobility is far more important than income distribution.
Some 94 percent of Americans who reach “top 1 percent” income status will enjoy it for only a single year. Approximately 99 percent will lose their “top 1 percent” status within a decade.Now consider the top 400 U.S. income-earners—a far more exclusive club than the top 1 percent. Between 1992 and 2013, 72 percent of the top 400 retained that title for no more than a year. Over 97 percent retained it for no more than a decade.HumanProgress.org advisory board member Mark Perry put it well in his recent blog post on this subject:Whenever we hear commentary about the top or bottom income quintiles, or the top or bottom X% of Americans by income (or the Top 400 taxpayers), a common assumption is that those are static, closed, private clubs with very little dynamic turnover … But economic reality is very different—people move up and down the income quintiles and percentile groups throughout their careers and lives.
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It is the great desire of the mass of men to elevate themselves to enjoy the riches of the few; and it is of no small concern for the few to protect such riches. Every generation’s rulers must establish the legitimacy of their position to those they rule. Without their contribution, they aver that our great Nation will fall. Without their wealth they say, no great contribution could be made.
Forgive my skepticism, for I do fancy that they do so enjoy their position and wealth that they would assert that it was the result of divine providence itself after making a pact with the devil himself. Few people are so serviceable to their view – for so little – as you.
Maxwell,
So what are you saying that your salivating and awful coveting in that response has not already said?
Cluelessness seems to be a byproduct of our national prosperity.
Perspective is everything. If you haven’t personally experienced living in the dirt outside our borders while working for Uncle Sam, ask your favorite veteran his/her take on how the rest of the world really lives. All politics aside, ask some questions. Everybody knows somebody who’s seen the world from other than an all-inclusive in Cancun or a river cruise down the Danube.