Distribution of Wealth
Here are some interesting factoids I heard on NPR yesterday. I missed most of the story, so this is just a postlet.
The top 1% of the population holds 21.2% of the wealth.
The bottom 50% holds just 12.1% of the nation's collective wealth.
There are 410 families out there that are worth $1.54 trillion.
I was going to write more, but time flies -- especially when you start out to write a post, and end up chatting with sexy-hunk-of-man, funny-as-shit blogbuddies. You know who are, you skinny bitch. Besides, I'm late to have a margarita meet with the women to discuss school district stuff.
Anyway, those little factoids should be enough to make you retch anyway. Don't want to overdo it.
Gotta run! Don't want to miss the call to order! Toodles...
15 comments:
Still,the odds seem pretty good that I should have been born into a wealthy family,become famous for being famous,and gone into rehab...Hey!...1 out of three!
Seriously. I keep waiting for that lottery ticket to hit ...
Unfortunately, I know all too well which of these little factoid groups I live in..... I gave up on lottery tickets, and now I keep thinking of JK Rowling, richer than the queen, scribbling away in cafes while she was on public assistance. That's a realistic financial plan, don't you think?
I know, right? I'm so jealous of her, yet I have the insane desire to build her a pedestal.
I had never bought a lottery ticket in my life, until about a year ago. I had to ask the girl how to do it. (she was like, "what do you mean?") Now it is part of my financial planning for the future.
State Lotteries: The Poor Person's 401K.
Cowbell: It's even more disconcerting when you look at things from a global perspective. The Western Hemisphere contains only 14% of the planet's total population, and yet the U.S. alone holds a third of the world's wealth.
If you sleep in a bed, put your clothes in a closet, your food in a refrigerator, and have a roof over your head, you are wealthier than 75% of the world's population.
Less than 10% of the planet has regular access to the internet.
The only reason most people in this country feel poor is that they have no bloody idea what the rest of the world looks like.
I'm with Sling. And yet, whenever I feel that itch of desire for "more" I stop and think about how much I have, materially and otherwise. The fact that I don't have to fetch my own water or worry about being blown away by a contractor at a checkpoint...baby, that's some serious wealth right there.
RG: I know - I feel like an idiot, I know the odds, I know how they play on poor people with that shit, and yet ... i keep remember the 50 year old janitor for the Seattle school district who also worked 2 other part time jobs ... he hit the big ticket. THen there was also that bastard rich guy who won -- what the hell is he doing buying a ticket? Waste of a few million, right there. Anyway, it goes to the schools, so that's my justification,
Red: Exactly. I remember the first time I went to some training that had similar statistics, and I was all Shocked American, then I felt like an idiot being shocked. I was considered "rich" in Hungary. They're not 'poor' like some other areas in the world, but yeah, poor compared to us. The "Brown & Root Wives" (under Halliburton) used to bitch all the time about the living conditions. Couldn't stand those bitches. I finally told one lady, "Hey, spend a month in Bosnia ... this place will be looking like the Ritz when you get back. Or just go home," Probably why they hated my ass, and I never got invited to any Brown & Root functions, ha.
Lorraine: exactly again. it's all about what measuring stick we use. I may be "poor" HERE, but even that ... I'm not out on the street. I have health insurance. We eat, we have shoes and coats. My dogs eat. We have enough water, for pete's sake, and it comes out of a friggin' faucet.
You have dogs??..
Sling: Yes - read about Batman's nastyass idea of a tasty treat, here. You know, I need to write about the boys more often -- I was just talking to someone else about them yesterday.
Wha...? Sexy hunk? ooOOoo
Also, HAH HAH! "Postlet"!
Can't stress enough the importance of appreciating what we've got. I have next to nuttin, and it's STILL more than I need.
Now if I could only get what I want...hmmm.
Hat: yes, sexyass hunk, but remember, all the good ones are either taken, gay, or geographically unavailable. Or dead. Or the owners of little yappy dogs.
That did not surprise to me at all when I heard it. I also heard that the gap between the rich and middle class is the largest it has ever been since they started keeping records.
You want to know what is really ironic? 87% of all the money given to charities is given by those in the middle class income level or below.
Whim: Yeah, scary, isn't it. And the charity stat? That's because those at the top don't want to get in the way of the common folk pulling themselves up by the bootstraps. They want folks to hold on to their pride, after all. Heartless bastards.
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