The genuinely rich make up a tiny small proportion of the nation. There is also an unproductive implicit assumption that people in particular income brackets at a given time are an enduring “class” at that level. Higher earners have more volatile incomes. Over the past three recessions, the top 1% of earners experienced an average person loss of nearly 50% of their income. Of those deemed “high income” in a given year, a substantial portion either sold a house or received a large inheritance.

From 1975 to 1991, a University of Michigan study followed the income of individuals. Ninety-five percent of those in the bottom 20% had risen out of that bracket by the end of the study. It is crucial to appreciate the distinction between the fates of batches of people and the fates of people themselves. In many cases, they have opposite outcomes.