>> Does ANYONE have any idea where Brooks got this?
>> "Over the past 10 years, 60 percent of American adults made more than
>> $100,000 in at least one or two of those years, and 40 percent had
>> incomes
>> that high for at least three."
>
> He attributes it to Rose, right? I'm guessing that this is household
> income, not individual income. Annual wage & salary earnings at the
> 90th percentile are around $80,000 - so we're talking around the 95th.
> The lower limit of the top quintile is around $100,000.
>
> American life is very volatile - it's quite possible that people could
> have one good year every five or ten. The reverse is probably also the
> case, or maybe more so - probably something like 60% spent a year or
> two in poverty as well. It's dishonest to focus just on the good news.
I'm dubious there's any truth to it at all. Brooks already garbled the household vs. individual income distinction. Also, we don't know what definition of income is being used. What if it includes capital gains on housing (and it's during the bubble years)? Then it's totally useless.
SA