Top 1% of US earners wealthier than all of the middle class

[neeps]

Top 1% of US earners now hold more wealth than all of the middle class

The middle 60% of U.S. households by income — a measure economists often use as a definition of the middle class — saw their combined assets drop to 26.6% of national wealth as of June, the lowest in Federal Reserve data going back three decades. For the first time, the super rich had a bigger share, at 27%.

“If the economic system isn’t working for the clear majority of the population, it will eventually lose political support,”

Financially squeezed workers helped drive support for former President Donald Trump and the populist turn in the Republican party.


Bloomberg article but can be read here. www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ap_news/business/top-1-of-us-earners-now-hold-more-wealth-than-all-of-the-middle-class/article_1fae324c-d427-5f6a-92bb-21178d2e66a9.html

[NewOrleans]

They are not earners.

[sonrisa]

Oct 10, 2021 8:20:28 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

They are not earners.

The cut off is $500K/year for a family. So at the low end some of these will be from two high paid professions not just investments. (double specialist physicians for example.)

[basilosaurus]

Oct 10, 2021 8:36:04 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Oct 10, 2021 8:20:28 GMT -5 NewOrleans said:

They are not earners.

The cut off is $500K/year for a family. So at the low end some of these will be from two high paid professions not just investments. (double specialist physicians for example.)

2 pilots who come from a military background. Not your typical millionaire/billionaire class. That's messed up that they're still top 1%. I'd be curious to see the comparison of top .9% vs top .1%.

[TR]

Oct 12, 2021 6:10:25 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Oct 10, 2021 8:36:04 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

The cut off is $500K/year for a family. So at the low end some of these will be from two high paid professions not just investments. (double specialist physicians for example.)

2 pilots who come from a military background. Not your typical millionaire/billionaire class. That's messed up that they're still top 1%. I'd be curious to see the comparison of top .9% vs top .1%.

How is it messed up? It’s math. 

[seeyalater52]

Oct 12, 2021 7:54:59 GMT -5 TR said:

Oct 12, 2021 6:10:25 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

2 pilots who come from a military background. Not your typical millionaire/billionaire class. That's messed up that they're still top 1%. I'd be curious to see the comparison of top .9% vs top .1%.

How is it messed up? It’s math. 

Because everyone is defensive as fuck about people who are legitimately high income earners. 

Look, no one is saying that it's the *exact same thing* that a two-doctor family makes 500k/year HHI and another family's 1 billion annual HHI is solely from investments and nobody works. But if we are segmenting the TOP ONE PERCENT these are all people who fall into that category. Yes, some finer segmenting can help to paint a picture, but this 1% figure is also significant and important in its own right. 

[TR]

Oct 12, 2021 11:53:47 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

Oct 12, 2021 7:54:59 GMT -5 TR said:

How is it messed up? It’s math. 

Because everyone is defensive as fuck about people who are legitimately high income earners. 

Look, no one is saying that it's the *exact same thing* that a two-doctor family makes 500k/year HHI and another family's 1 billion annual HHI is solely from investments and nobody works. But if we are segmenting the TOP ONE PERCENT these are all people who fall into that category. Yes, some finer segmenting can help to paint a picture, but this 1% figure is also significant and important in its own right. 

Yes and this is also a different 1% than when we talk bout the 1% that holds wealth. I think, right?

[seeyalater52]

Oct 12, 2021 12:00:53 GMT -5 TR said:

Oct 12, 2021 11:53:47 GMT -5 seeyalater52 said:

Because everyone is defensive as fuck about people who are legitimately high income earners. 

Look, no one is saying that it's the *exact same thing* that a two-doctor family makes 500k/year HHI and another family's 1 billion annual HHI is solely from investments and nobody works. But if we are segmenting the TOP ONE PERCENT these are all people who fall into that category. Yes, some finer segmenting can help to paint a picture, but this 1% figure is also significant and important in its own right. 

Yes and this is also a different 1% than when we talk bout the 1% that holds wealth. I think, right?

Yes, I think so. They're related measures, in that they're both measures of relative wealth. They're also both imprecise, but they illustrate important points about income disparities/wealth disparities that are important. 

And if your first reaction is to get defensive about math, maybe sit down and reflect a little about why that is. Sheesh. 

[sonrisa]

Also - just because two high earning doctors, pilots or small business owners happen to qualify for a proposed tax or whatever aimed at the 1% doesn't make it an illegitimate policy. They are still earning in the top 1% of households in this country. Yes, there is also reason to change the way passive income and capital gains are treated. blah, blah, blah.

I just meant that the 1% isn't only from investments (as suggested by the second post), some is more conventional earned income. 

We can talk about the 1% and also talk about a billionaire wealth tax and understand that these are two different things. Just like top 10% of HHI is different from top 1%, from 0.1% and all of these are different from generational family wealth - even though they are subset of each other.