- Aug 21, 2007
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Not very, according to Mark Rank and Thomas A. Hirschl.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/opinion/sunday/from-rags-to-riches-to-rags.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0
Relevant findings:
12% of us will find ourselves in the top 1% for at least a year at some point.
39% of us will find ourselves in the top 5% for at least a year.
56% of us will find ourselves in the top 10% for at least a year.
73% of us will find ourselves in the top 20% for at least a year.
IRS data shows that between 1999 and 2007, half of those who earned over $1 million a year did so just once during this period; only 6 percent reported millionaire status across all nine years.
Critique:
"44 years of longitudinal data regarding individuals from ages 25 to 60." A bit vague. Where can we look at the actual analysis?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/opinion/sunday/from-rags-to-riches-to-rags.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0
It turns out that 12 percent of the population will find themselves in the top 1 percent of the income distribution for at least one year. Whats more, 39 percent of Americans will spend a year in the top 5 percent of the income distribution, 56 percent will find themselves in the top 10 percent, and a whopping 73 percent will spend a year in the top 20 percent of the income distribution.
Yet while many Americans will experience some level of affluence during their lives, a much smaller percentage of them will do so for an extended period of time. Although 12 percent of the population will experience a year in which they find themselves in the top 1 percent of the income distribution, a mere 0.6 percent will do so in 10 consecutive years.
It is clear that the image of a static 1 and 99 percent is largely incorrect. The majority of Americans will experience at least one year of affluence at some point during their working careers. (This is just as true at the bottom of the income distribution scale, where 54 percent of Americans will experience poverty or near poverty at least once between the ages of 25 and 60).
A further example of such fluidity can be found in an analysis by the tax-policy expert Robert Carroll. Using data from the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Carroll showed that between 1999 and 2007, half of those who earned over $1 million a year did so just once during this period, while only 6 percent reported millionaire status across all nine years.
Likewise, data analyzed by the I.R.S. showed similar findings with respect to the top 400 taxpayers between 1992 and 2009. While 73 percent of people who made the list did so once during this period, only 2 percent of them were on the list for 10 or more years. These analyses further demonstrate the sizable amount of turnover and movement within the top levels of the income distribution.
One of the reasons for such fluidity at the top is that, over sufficiently long periods of time, most American households go through a wide range of economic experiences, both positive and negative. Individuals we interviewed spoke about hitting a particularly prosperous period where they received a bonus, or a spouse entered the labor market, or there was a change of jobs. These are the types of events that can throw households above particular income thresholds.
Relevant findings:
12% of us will find ourselves in the top 1% for at least a year at some point.
39% of us will find ourselves in the top 5% for at least a year.
56% of us will find ourselves in the top 10% for at least a year.
73% of us will find ourselves in the top 20% for at least a year.
IRS data shows that between 1999 and 2007, half of those who earned over $1 million a year did so just once during this period; only 6 percent reported millionaire status across all nine years.
Critique:
"44 years of longitudinal data regarding individuals from ages 25 to 60." A bit vague. Where can we look at the actual analysis?