"The fact that one percent of the nation's richest individuals control 42 percent of the nation's wealth is, to me, a stunning revelation in the wake of a recession"
What percent of the wealth should the richest 1% control? Until someone can posit some kind of somewhat reasonable answer to that, I don't see how we can by stunned by whatever the actual figure is.
Unless everyone has an equal share of the wealth, so that there is no such thing as rich people and poor people, it is MATHEMATICALLY REQUIRED that the richest X% have >X% of the wealth, and if within each wealth range there are some more wealth than others, then it is necessary that the ratio w(x)/x, where w(x) is the percent of the wealth owned by the top x% be an increasing function.
It is not just that, many people severely overestimate the net worth required to put you in the "top 1%" just by working backward from the numbers. The best estimates put the "top 1%" point at around $1.2-1.3M using the IRS's method of calculation.
People with $1.2M in net worth are usually pretty middle class, especially in the more expensive parts of the country. The bulk of the top 1% are hardcore savers and small business owners. Not nearly as many fat guys with top hats and cigars in the top 1% as is often implied.
What percent of the wealth should the richest 1% control? Until someone can posit some kind of somewhat reasonable answer to that, I don't see how we can by stunned by whatever the actual figure is.
Unless everyone has an equal share of the wealth, so that there is no such thing as rich people and poor people, it is MATHEMATICALLY REQUIRED that the richest X% have >X% of the wealth, and if within each wealth range there are some more wealth than others, then it is necessary that the ratio w(x)/x, where w(x) is the percent of the wealth owned by the top x% be an increasing function.