The Rich and the Poor

    

The uninformed demonstrate despite facts. “The poor are being robbed by the rich” is their old refrain.

           

Whether the rich are becoming richer and the poor even poorer depends on the observer. And what the slanted media suggest.

           

The Treasury Department has reported an opposite slant from the usual political and media story that the rich are getting richer and the poor are poorer. Their studies

consistently show similar patterns.

                       

Studies of the same individuals show patterns different than the patterns the politicians always suggest.

                       

Similarly, a study conducted at the University of Michigan, following the same individuals over an even longer span of time, found most people move from one income bracket to another over time, especially among those who began in the bottom 20%.

                       

The University of Michigan Panel Survey on Income Dynamics showed that, among people who were in the bottom 20% income

bracket in 1975, only 5% were still in that category in 1991. Nearly six times as many of them were now in the top 20% in 1991. That pattern has persisted.

                       

Many sneer at income mobility as a myth. But the facts speak for themselves.

                       

Furthermore, misinformation feeds on the mob scapegoating of the rich. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)