3 ms·
Keep in mind the level of churn. An implicit bias easy to make is forgetting that these are percentiles, not people, and most people move through different perc
by tjs8rj 6y ago
Keep in mind the level of churn. An implicit bias easy to make is forgetting that these are percentiles, not people, and most people move through different percentiles at different times in their life.
11% of Americans will be in the 1% for at least 1 year in their life, 39% will be in the top 10% at some point, 61% in the top 20%[1][2].
94% of those in the top 1% fall out in a year, 99% within a decade[1].
In other words: being a 1%er is a very transient title for the vast majority of even the rich who make it there.
[1]: https://www.cato.org/blog/high-turnover-among-americas-rich https://www.cato.org/blog/high-turnover-among-americas-rich
[2]: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/05/05/308380342/most-americans-make-it-to-the-top-20-percent-at-least-for-a-while https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/05/05/308380342/most...
- snypher 6y ago>11% of Americans will be in the 1% for at least 1 year in their life 11% of Americans will make over $500k a year, or have $12M in assets, for one year? This cannot possibly be true. Oh, Cato Institute? Say no more.
- pseudo0 6y agoIs 11% earning $500k for at least one year really that surprising? For example, a mom and pop small business selling their store in order to retire could qualify for one year, but that money would likely be the bulk of their retirement savings. It's probably not a useful metric though, if most of those people break $500k due to one-off lump sum payments.
- tjs8rj 6y agoThe npr source said 5% of Americans will be in the 1% for 2 consecutive years, so the Cato numbers aren’t far from what you might expect.
- bumby 6y agoWhat matters more, I believe, is wealth rather than income. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it, but The Meritocracy Trap outlines the case that wealth can be less transitory.