Distribution of the Wealth

The following chart is from a poll of 5,000 Americans showing how they think wealth is distributed in this country (middle) and how they think wealth SHOULD be distributed (bottom) with how it actually is (top). 



And, since talk is often of the top 1%, here's how that breaks down:



The video states that the top 1% now controls 24% of the wealth in America, whereas in 1976, that figure was 9%.  And that the average worker in a company (again, I don't know what companies were included in the data) makes in one month what the CEO makes in one hour.

Another view. This is on a scale of 100 people; those little green marks are money (how much money per mark, I don't know) - and that floating bit in the upper right is the top cut off of #s 97-99 to fit in the chart.  Number 100 has so much money, it had to be made into 10 columns to fit the chart.  To put it in perspective, imagine those ten columns stacked one on top of the other to make it one tall column. 



I'm kind of surprised that 90% of people polled thought income distribution was more equitable.  It looks about right to me - well, not RIGHT, but realistic.   Actually, the middle class, economically speaking, needs to be clearly defined as rich people.

But hey, perception IS reality.  And that's how the governers govern - by monitoring and managing perception.  And that is why "middle class" will NOT be clearly defined in our public discourse.  Because people who consider themselves middle class would not like to be thought of as so closely kin to the poor. 

h/t Marty

Disclaimer:  I did not verify the figures, but these are their references, and if they've correctly quoted Dan Ariely, then I believe them.  He's an MIT professor whose research field is the study of rationality.