# The top 1% - the World over... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680 "2010-07-06T05:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fuji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Fuji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/41 "2010-07-06T12:52:05Z")
> [@lurking\_guest](#): > > Yes. “The Market.” > God Bless “The Market.” > > Alan Greenspan. Timothy Geitner. Larry Summers. Hank Paulsen. > > God Bless they and their Trillions of American Taxpayer Dollars, One and All. > > Oooooooops. Did/have we confused Socialism with Capitalism? > > Oh…confusion…confusion… > > It takes hundreds of thousand (millions and billions) of dollars and countless decades of education and the same decades of wisdom and life experience from coast-to-coast and continent-to-continent to convince the icky, lower class billions to BELIEVE **your bullshit**. > > And YET… these Harvard-tied, Oxford-educated, politically-connected, oil-funded folks - world wide - keep on getting away with it. > > Aren’t their lives and ours the better for it? > > Leadership MATTERS! > > Jeebus… Ya know, I was just having a bit of fun with my initial reply. But now that you’ve made this argument personal, fuck the light-hearted approach. Look, you mush-brained simpleton, “The Market” isn’t some shadow conlgomerate of eldritch gnomes toiling away in their concrete bunker underneath the streets of Zürich to perfect just the right tincture of fluorine to add to the world’s drinking supply to complete their stranglehold on the wretched denizens of this dismal globe. You sound like Ted Knight from The Superfriends: “Meanwhile, back at the Legion of Doom…” At its most basic, the market is about the (relatively) free interplay of supply and demand within conditions of scarcity. And the laws of supply and demand are just that - LAWS. They exist externally of any system, whether _laissez-faire_ late 19th century capitalism, or doe-eyed Fabian utopianism, or the Cambodian Year Zero. If you can’t even understand basic concepts such as scarcity or demand, yet want to cast moral aspersions at those of us who do and reject your juvenile idiocy, then you really come off as one of the members of the “aggressively stupid”. I feel like I’m the pilot on [this flight](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961) and you’re one of the bad guys. “No, we don’t have enough fuel to fly to Australia. Now go back in the cabin, sit down, have a gin & tonic, and shut the fuck up.” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/42 "2010-07-06T12:52:43Z")
I defend the right of the unbelievably wealthy to control every aspect of our lives. After all, there’s a chance for any of us (however small) to become incredibly rich and influential, and if we screw with the system now we’ll be doomed to small insignificant lives forever. Besides, the wealthy and powerful have formed an organization [to pass on their secrets](https://www.globalinformationnetwork.com) to us. For only a nominal investment you too, **lurking guest** can learn how to be a one-percenter. You’ll have the last laugh!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/43 "2010-07-06T12:58:29Z")
> [@lurking\_guest](#): > > Rhythmdal …keep on working…the marketplace will soon have you rubbing shoulders with the folks you idolize for the hard work and innovation that put them where you probably never will be. Your ‘betters’…in other words. Idolize shmidolize, you’re a fucking moron. Whether or not Melinda Gates’ vibrator is gold-plated or not makes no difference to me. That I’m able to connect to the Internet and do my work from home _does_ mean a lot to me. How much? A few hundred for an operating system, and a few hundred for productivity software. End of transaction. I also keep Macs (oh no, Steve Jobs!) in the office, but the whole network is run off Linux servers (oh no, … erm … ?). I’ve got my little slice of paradise here, do my best to return some good to the world and help others out, and don’t give a shit that I’ll never make it to billionaire. That I pay money to Gates to make this corner of happiness a reality doesn’t bother me. Waitasecond … come to think of it, in a bizarre twist Gates has actually paid _me_ more than I’ve paid _him_. Wow, holy shit! I do development work. Several projects have been funded by the Gates foundation. _Bill Gates is my bitch!_ ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/44 "2010-07-06T13:03:26Z")
He can only be your bitch if when you fuck him, he feels it, and on that front you are a pencil-dick. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/45 "2010-07-06T13:13:08Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > He can only be your bitch if when you fuck him, he feels it, and on that front you are a pencil-dick. Damn! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/46 "2010-07-06T13:24:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Imagine no possessions > I wonder if you can > No need for greed or hunger > A brotherhood of man? > Imagine. all > > the people > Sharing all the world And shit. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/47 "2010-07-06T13:35:06Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Damn! :smack: It was nothing personal, **Rhythmdvl** , I was just pointing out a fact of life. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/48 "2010-07-06T13:44:49Z")
No affront taken. I didn’t know there were rules about determining someone’s bitch status. As for the pencil dick thing, no problem there either. I like to hang out at modeling studios because women are forever signing contracts and whatnot. Loads of fun! ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/49 "2010-07-06T14:24:14Z")
Is it just me, or is it easier to read **Lurking Guest** ’s posts if you put on a beret and black turtleneck sweater, grab some bongos and read it in a Beatnik/free form Jazz cadence? ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/50 "2010-07-06T14:43:11Z")
The OP is a freshman in college, and has just discovered pot. That’s my guess. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/51 "2010-07-06T14:57:55Z")
> [@lurking\_guest](#): > > And where is this country, Zoe? > … Try Bhutan. [Bhutan - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan) > [@](#): > > … Bhutan used to be one of the most isolated countries in the world. Developments including direct international flights, the Internet, mobile phone networks, and cable television have increasingly modernized the urban areas of the country. Bhutan balanced modernization with its ancient culture and traditions under the guiding philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH). Rampant destruction of the environment has been avoided. The government takes great measures to preserve the nation’s traditional culture, identity and the environment. In 2006, Business Week magazine rated Bhutan the happiest country in Asia and the eighth-happiest in the world, citing a global survey conducted by the University of Leicester in 2006 called the “World Map of Happiness”. … ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/52 "2010-07-06T15:02:41Z")
Heh, how much money does it take to be in the top 1%, worldwide? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/53 "2010-07-06T15:11:51Z")
Not really very much at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/54 "2010-07-06T15:23:15Z")
[Wiki says](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States) it takes $250,000 to get you into the top 1.5%. Is that close enough to 1%? The top 5% is only $150,000. And that’s _household income_, not even personal income. Hell, _I’m_ in the top 5%. You do realize that 1% is only 1 in 100, right? I mean, that’s one person on every flight you go on. That’s 4 people in your high school class. That’s at least 10 people in the office building I’m currently in. 1% isn’t really that rare. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/55 "2010-07-06T15:24:35Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > The OP is a freshman in college, and has just discovered pot. That’s my guess. Bullshit! The OP has clearly never graduated from high school. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/56 "2010-07-06T15:26:33Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > [Wiki says](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States) it takes $250,000 to get you into the top 1.5%. Is that close enough to 1%? The top 5% is only $150,000. And that’s _household income_, not even personal income. Hell, _I’m_ in the top 5%. > > You do realize that 1% is only 1 in 100, right? I mean, that’s one person on every flight you go on. That’s 4 people in your high school class. That’s at least 10 people in the office building I’m currently in. 1% isn’t really that rare. That’s in the United States. The figures for the world would be considerably lower, of course. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/57 "2010-07-06T15:27:54Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > [Wiki says](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States) it takes $250,000 to get you into the top 1.5%. Is that close enough to 1%? The top 5% is only $150,000. And that’s _household income_, not even personal income. Hell, _I’m_ in the top 5%. > > You do realize that 1% is only 1 in 100, right? I mean, that’s one person on every flight you go on. That’s 4 people in your high school class. That’s at least 10 people in the office building I’m currently in. 1% isn’t really that rare. And that’s top 1.5 _ **in the United States** _. I’m pretty sure anything over $50ishK US gets you into the top 1% _worldwide_. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/58 "2010-07-06T15:28:33Z")
Just to insert some facts, to be in the top 1% of U.S. incomes, you have to have an income of slightly less than $200,000 (or at least you did in 2005; I used 2005 IRS numbers for this calculation). This group paid 16.36% of the 2005 personal income taxes. If you had an income of $200,000 in 2005, you were in the top 0.96% of U.S. incomes. Top 1% of world incomes will be significantly less. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/59 "2010-07-06T15:36:13Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > That’s in the United States. The figures for the world would be considerably lower, of course. Perhaps not. We make much more money, true, but we have smaller households. If a country has an average household size twice that of the US, they only have to make half the money per wage earner. How does that pan out for our statistics? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680/60 "2010-07-06T15:46:53Z")
These sites purport to tell you where you rank in wealth pecentage wise compared to the rest of the world. The top link puts the top 1% at about $50,000 a year, the bottom is more conservative and puts it closer to $68,000. [http://www.globalrichlist.com/](http://www.globalrichlist.com/) [http://www.leastof.org/worldwealthcalculator](http://www.leastof.org/worldwealthcalculator) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-top-1-the-world-over/545680.md?page=4)