So my comments are pure speculatory, but i've been thinking about this topic for a while as clearly the economy is being hit, though it doesn't feel like everyone is being hit in the same way.
My assumptions is our 'system' is designed to ensure:
- the top .01% stay rich
- The top 10% can become the top 1%
- There is no simple way for the top 1% to become the top .01%
- Its easy for the top 1% and below to move down quickly
What I am trying to convey in the above is that there are really three wealth classifications. Uber elite, top 1%, and have nots. I realize this is a super broad stroke, but when I say 'have nots', I don't mean folks in the street. I mean purely 'upward mobility', in that the ability to grow upward.
Example A: Teacher in an amazing school district with a reasonable cost of living and making salary of ~$100k. They are a have not. There is basically zero way for them to be upwardly mobile. They will pay their ~30% taxes, pay into retirement, pay sales tax. They will have a beautiful house, maybe a summer home, but overall they will not have much means to get to the 1% and above.
Example B: Working at Lowes/Home Depot in a middle role in a good school district with a reasonable cost of living and making $60-70k. There is basically zero way for them to be upwardly mobile. They will pay their ~30% taxes, pay into retirement, pay sales tax. They will have a modest home and most likely won't have a summer home though maybe a small boat they bring to the lake, but overall they will not have much means to get to the 1% and above.
Example C: Working as an Auto Dismantler as a primary job in a low level role and a side hustle as a landscaper, living in a below average school district with a below average cost of living and making $40-60k. There is basically zero way for them to be upwardly mobile. They will pay their ~30% taxes, pay into retirement, pay sales tax. They will have a below average home, most likely won't have a summer home or a boat they bring to the lake, but maybe a small camper they take to campgrounds. Overall they will not have much means to get to the 1% and above.
The above examples are 'have nots'. They have no upward mobility. If in either of the above examples both family partners work full time, maybe there is a greater chance to leap into the 1% but it's unlikely they will stay as inflation/cost of living, will typically outpace their COLAs. So in my opinion, just above the poverty line to just below the 1% will basically have the same life except less vacations, older cars, not as good school districts and less amazon deliveries. These have nots are expected to pay into the system to ensure a foundation for the .01%.
The 1% are just the jobs which make the .01% richer. Typically this is tech and finance. These are the roles which 'make the rich richer'. These .01% uber elites want more and more and more and more. They get into venture capital investing, they get into the stock market, they get into these high money situations and expect zero risk. They expect zero risk because they help put people/process into power which ensure their little to no risk. Without getting political, this is our capital system and its by design. The 1% are just more cogs like the 'have nots', but they have the potential, or they work for companies, which have the potential of the 100x payout. That's what the VCs want, that's what the investors want. They are fine with 50 failed tech startups as long as they hit others a long the way. Just so they can be richer. The .01% use the 1% for these means and pay they appropriately. I believe this is why we have seen such a demand for tech labor. And I do not believe there will be less desire to make the .01% richer so I imagine a continued demand for the 1%.
So, that's how I believe the system is designed today. What I believe will happen in the next 5-10 years, unless we the people make some changes, is more disparity between the .01%/1% and the have nots. This disparity will be the cost of goods due to demand and amount of currency in circulation. The have nots will pay more for health care, more for property, more for insurance, and have less and less disposable income based on COLAs and less and less upward mobility.