> the top fifth of the income distribution—broadly, households with incomes above the $112,000 These are not rich oligarch industrialists at all. If your tota

> the top fifth of the income distribution—broadly, households with incomes above the $112,000 These are not rich oligarch industrialists at all. If your total household income, husband and wife together, is $112k, you're middle class in most of the country. In some areas like the Bay and Manhattan, you're lower middle class. You generally don't have access to subsidized rent and you don't get subsidies for health care. Making people at this level earn less so everyone will be more equal just means more fall into poverty. A better solution is to focus on returning skilled high pay jobs to the US in order to get more people into higher brackets. > Income growth has not been uniform within the top fifth, of course: a third of the income rise went to the top 1 percent alone. But that still left $2.7 trillion for the 19 percent just beneath them. 2.7e12/326.e6*.19 = $1574 increase each on average. For the income range discussed, this is just barely keeping up with the rate of inflation.