Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

It really is this simple and this chart of Net Worth Held by the Top 0.1% demonstrates it well -

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBLTP1246



That chart seems to demonstrate that there was a lot of inflation in the early 2020s, which I assume is not your point.


Here's one for share of net worth: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBSTP1300

(Note: I am not GP, and am not necessarily saying you can draw conclusions from this one chart, just that the change in net worth cannot be attributed solely to inflation.)


You can argue it was primarily due to inflation (changes in the economy can never be attributed solely to any one thing).

The upper 0.1% largely owns things that are relatively safe from inflation (like expensive real estate in areas where increases in value have exceeded the rate of inflation for decades) while the lower 50 - 80% does not.

It's effectively impossible to prove definitively, but I find it hard to believe it's a coincidence that the share of wealth held by asset-heavy individuals shot up at the exact same time the money supply increased significantly, especially given that lower class wages were actually increasing faster than inflation and upper class wages at the same time.


You thought that graph mirrored inflation? That $4 in 2000 was $24 today?

I find that difficult to believe.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: