19% of Americans believe they are in Bush's top 1%

The mythology of being rich in America.

At the time of the 2000 election a staggering 19% of Americans believed they were in the top 1% of wage earners. Another 20% believed they were on there way or close to being in the top 1%. Is it any wonder that when George Bush's tax cuts that benefit the top 1% that almost 40% of Americans believe they will are the beneficiary? They feel that slight pang of guilt enjoying the moment when they are in fact not even close to being in the top 1%. So, who is in the top 1%? It appears that figure is escalating, though it was at one time $1.3 million per year income, not assets. And although the number of millionaire US households jumped eight per cent over the past year to 8.9 million the number of American below the poverty line has also increased dramatically. The rich are getting richer and the poorer are getting further and further behind.






Guardian, 12/2003