The myth that the "1%" own everything

[slimreaper]

[video=youtube;EgVDyBqAQNw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgVDyBqAQNw[/video]


In this video Thomas Sowell basically dismantles this notion entirely


Here the gist of the video


"Although People in the top income brackets and the bottom income brackets('the rich' and 'the poor' as they are often called) may be discussed as if they are different classes of people, often they are in fact the same people at different times in their lives."

"56% of all American households will be in the top 10% at some point in their lives" (usually when they're older)

"of all the people in the top 1% in the course of a decade an overwhelming majority will be there only 1 year... only 13% will be there two years."


Basically the whole top 1% argument is liberal propaganda to control the poor

 

[Zee Seh]

Okay but thats not gonna fill the bellies of poor kids dying of hunger

 

[Sasori]

Cool .

 

[Troyg39]

If you honesty believe over half the people in America will make it to the top 10% and that most who become top 1% earners lose enough money to drop out in only a year, the propaganda worked very well on you alright

 

[slimreaper]

If you honesty believe over half the people in America will make it to the top 10% and that most who become top 1% earners lose enough money to drop out in only a year, the propaganda worked very well on you alright

By all means disprove it

 

[straightup]

Wow... Ok man lets get this straight. The most social mobility happens in the middle class. The upper class and underclass rarely if ever experience social mobility. And yes...there is social inequality. You can't have a society without social inequality. I feel like you just watched a 5 minute video, regurgitated the info, and called yourself an expert on the subject.

 

[slimreaper]

Wow... Ok man lets get this straight. The most social mobility happens in the middle class. The upper class and underclass rarely if ever experience social mobility. And yes...there is social inequality. You can't have a society without social inequality. I feel like you just watched a 5 minute video, regurgitated the info, and called yourself an expert on the subject.

When did I call myself the expert? I used Thomas Sowell's video to bring the information to you. I posted the video here to show you my source, then posted the biggest points for the lazy ****s who wouldn't watch it.

 

[chopstickchakra]

By all means disprove it

Warren Buffet. Boom. Been a 1%er for decades.

 

[slimreaper]

Warren Buffet. Boom. Been a 1%er for decades.

Now show me where I said every person to ever be in the 1% wouldn't stay there for a while.

But the Idea that the "1%" is a solid group and not an ever changing one is the problem

 

[Dantee]

Lol 56% of americans will be in the top 10%? bullshit.

 

[slimreaper]

Lol 56% of americans will be in the top 10%? bullshit.

You realize if you sell your house you automatically get really damn close don't you? That's why the majority don't stay there, because the only reason they are even in the"1%" is because of an income spike.

 

[Troyg39]

By all means disprove it

There's nothing to disprove. You, as well as this video, are making the mistake of only looking at a person's year-to-year income rather than net worth, to access one's wealth. Your title is about the 1% owning everything.

While it's true that a person's income can fluctuate from year to year, and the threshold, especially from state to state, can be as low as making 50,000 in a year's time to equal the top 50% for that state, the flaw with using only income to measure wealth and ownership is that you can only account for taxable income.

Basically, you are letting this propaganda leave you with the assumption that these people aren't still very rich and own their companies once they drop out of the 1% of taxable income earners. They can claim losses to offset their capital gains. They have more options to claim tax-exempt investments that don't have to be reported to the IRS. Putting money into retirement accounts, un-sold property value, all things that are a true measure of their actual wealth but aren't accounted for.

Going off something as fleeting as taxable income only skewers the perception and doesn't represent a person's wealth, power, or ownership. Don't be a sheep. Educate yourself.

 

[slimreaper]

There's nothing to disprove. You, as well as this video, are making the mistake of only looking at a person's year-to-year income rather than net worth, to access one's wealth. Your title is about the 1% owning everything.

While it's true that a person's income can fluctuate from year to year, and the threshold, especially from state to state, can be as low as making 50,000 in a year's time to equal the top 50% for that state, the flaw with using only income to measure wealth and ownership is that you can only account for taxable income.

Basically, you are letting this propaganda leave you with the assumption that these people aren't still very rich and own their companies once they drop out of the 1% of taxable income earners. They can claim losses to offset their capital gains. They have more options to claim tax-exempt investments that don't have to be reported to the IRS. Putting money into retirement accounts, un-sold property value, all things that are a true measure of their actual wealth but aren't accounted for.

Going off something as fleeting as taxable income only skewers the perception and doesn't represent a person's wealth, power, or ownership. Don't be a sheep. Educate yourself.

You are the one pushing the idea that is general incorrect general belief and I'm the sheep?

[video=youtube;Qi8clPrg7kc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi8clPrg7kc[/video]

I'm totally glad to trust your word over a Harvard graduate and Economics PhD and Professor


I'm not even suggesting that there aren't a very small number of people who stay there for a lifetime... but the media doesn't go after celebrity's for being rich and contributing nothing to society, they go after the CEO who's numbers are most likely inflated by the selling of acquired stocks or a house.

 

[Troyg39]

You are the one pushing the idea that is general incorrect general belief and I'm the sheep?

[video=youtube;Qi8clPrg7kc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi8clPrg7kc[/video]

I'm totally glad to trust your word over a Harvard graduate and Economics PhD and Professor

Again, he's only talking about INCOME. That does not account for net worth. Yes, I think you're a sheep, because you don't read.

For anyone reading this thread and who truly doesn't know, please do a simple google search on the matter if you do not understand the difference between using taxable income and net worth to access wealth. Do not let this guy's terrible interpretation of this video that is CLEARLY only mentioning income confuse you.

There are CEOs that earn taxable income of only $1 per year. They clearly have earnings that exceed this, but you again, only taxable income can be clocked. It doesn't account for the tax-exempt income nor money and assets they have retained and not sold. Bill Gates doesn't make the same amount of money from year to year, but he has never dropped out of the first 1% of wealthiest men. Educate yourself

 

[straightup]

When did I call myself the expert? I used Thomas Sowell's video to bring the information to you. I posted the video here to show you my source, then posted the biggest points for the lazy ****s who wouldn't watch it.

I'm sorry but Karl Marx, weber, Durkheim, and mills all seem to agree on one thing. There is a gap between the rich and poor. Don't let this propaganda bullshit tell you otherwise. It's just some right wing nut jobs trying to cover the obvious up

 

[slimreaper]

Again, he's only talking about INCOME. That does not account for net worth. Yes, I think you're a sheep, because you don't read.

For anyone reading this thread and who truly doesn't know, please do a simple google search on the matter if you do not understand the difference between using taxable income and net worth to access wealth. Do not let this guy's terrible interpretation of this video that is CLEARLY only mentioning income confuse you.

There are CEOs that earn taxable income of only $1 per year. They clearly have earnings that exceed this, but you again, only taxable income can be clocked. It doesn't account for the tax-exempt income nor money and assets they have retained and not sold. Bill Gates doesn't make the same amount of money from year to year, but he has never dropped out of the first 1% of wealthiest men. Educate yourself

Do we make legislature based on those principles?

When they talk about raising taxes, they talk about the 1%. Sowell is illustrating that that isn't necessarily just. Hell for reasons you've even mentioned, we'd be hurting Americans who happen to be at the top that year with the idea we are hurting people whose money is actually un-touchable

 

[chopstickchakra]

Now show me where I said every person to ever be in the 1% wouldn't stay there for a while.

But the Idea that the "1%" is a solid group and not an ever changing one is the problem

I think the amount of people who think it never changes is a lot smaller than perceived. Also this guys claims still aren't that valid. Most US families will not make it into the top 10% of income within the country it's mathematically impossible. It's true most family households will earn at least or over $1,ooo,ooo in their life but that's not enough to put you in the 1% and if you don't hold it all at once it doesn't count either, just because I made 3 million in my life doesn't make me equal financially to someone who's account hold 3 mil all day(i.e.). There's countless families across the US who have lived for generations never breaching the 1% gap.

 

[straightup]

Again, he's only talking about INCOME. That does not account for net worth. Yes, I think you're a sheep, because you don't read.

For anyone reading this thread and who truly doesn't know, please do a simple google search on the matter if you do not understand the difference between using taxable income and net worth to access wealth. Do not let this guy's terrible interpretation of this video that is CLEARLY only mentioning income confuse you.

There are CEOs that earn taxable income of only $1 per year. They clearly have earnings that exceed this, but you again, only taxable income can be clocked. It doesn't account for the tax-exempt income nor money and assets they have retained and not sold. Bill Gates doesn't make the same amount of money from year to year, but he has never dropped out of the first 1% of wealthiest men. Educate yourself

I gotta agree with this guy. Income is different then wealth. Wealth is what make the 1% what they are, elite. Yes income can fluctuate but when your sitting on top of 300 plus million you don't really need the income. I implore you to go to YouTube and watch a documentary called "The one percent" this is a documentary by Jaime Johnson (from the Johnson and Johnson family, heir to over a billion dollars) it explains a lot about social inequality

 

[Troyg39]

Do we make legislature based on those principles?

When they talk about raising taxes, they talk about the 1%. Sowell is illustrating that that isn't necessarily just. Hell for reasons you've even mentioned, we'd be hurting Americans who happen to be at the top that year with the idea we are hurting people whose money is actually un-touchable

I never commented on legislature or raising taxes. Whatever your political ties are not my concern. The only thing I can tell you is that the top 1% of owners wouldn't be affected or hurt that much. They make more than what their taxable income reveals. That's why it's foolish to only focus on that. They have more options that most Americans don't to convert their income to tax-exempt income, which saves them from having to pay a lot of money in taxes.

There are some that thinks this is unfair, as technically it means there is money made that isn't taxed, only because of how it's converted. That's why the percentage of income tax paid per person is typically lower with people who have more wealth, with the "rich" paying usually around 14% year to year as opposed to say a person working a 9-5 and paying roughly 35% of their income in taxes.

Again, I'm not saying which I think is fair or not. Most of the taxed income the IRS comes from the wealthy, but they are leaving a lot on the table as well by providing so many exemptions for them that most Americans aren't able to claim. They could include more exemptions for less wealthy americans, but that would also cut into tax money they collect. There's no easy answer to this problem. My only concern was this idea you were putting out income=ownership.

 

[slimreaper]

I gotta agree with this guy. Income is different then wealth. Wealth is what make the 1% what they are, elite. Yes income can fluctuate but when your sitting on top of 300 plus million you don't really need the income. I implore you to go to YouTube and watch a documentary called "The one percent" this is a documentary by Jaime Johnson (from the Johnson and Johnson family, heir to over a billion dollars) it explains a lot about social inequality

But we're tax based on income... How is that fair?