living the dream
i came across an interesting set of numbers the other day. i was looking at the distribution of income. i surprised to find it hasn't changed much since 1970. ie the 50th percentile today still takes home the same percentage of the income pie the 50th percentile took home 40 years ago. i discovered this when i was looking for something else. it's common knowledge (for whatever that's worth) that rich folks have fewer children than non-rich folks. so if kids stay at the same relative income level as their parents, you'd expect over time the relative income taken home by the non-rich to drop. because there are more non-rich folks relative to rich folks. but that hasn't happened. which means either the common wisdom is wrong. which it could be. or more likely, non-rich children grow up and earn more than their parents. which is kinda what the american dream is all about. to make a better life for your kids than you had. huh. at least part of the system is working.