Agree. Top 10% is one of the IRS/census bureau’s breakouts, but it doesn’t really capture the scope of inequality. IMO, wealth number - $2M - sounds a lot richer than the income number - $250k - especially on the internet, where people skew younger. 10% income is about 3x median. 10% net worth is about 10x median. But in a country where 16% of people are over 65, a lot of those $2M people are retirees. Top 10% of either could easily be your neighbor, and you’d probably not notice.
The 1% numbers are much more extreme. 1% by wealth is $11M; by income $790k. The 1% threshold is about as far from the 10% threshold as the 10% threshold is from median, by either measure.
Agree. Top 10% is one of the IRS/census bureau’s breakouts, but it doesn’t really capture the scope of inequality. IMO, wealth number - $2M - sounds a lot richer than the income number - $250k - especially on the internet, where people skew younger. 10% income is about 3x median. 10% net worth is about 10x median. But in a country where 16% of people are over 65, a lot of those $2M people are retirees. Top 10% of either could easily be your neighbor, and you’d probably not notice.
The 1% numbers are much more extreme. 1% by wealth is $11M; by income $790k. The 1% threshold is about as far from the 10% threshold as the 10% threshold is from median, by either measure.