The Filthy Rich are a Slippery Bunch

A new report from the IRS demonstrates how hard it may actually be to track down and vilify the "Filthy, Stinking Rich" that we have been told to loathe so much. The data covers the top 400 income earners for the 18 years 1992-2009. Turns out that 73 percent of taxpayers appear on the list only once. Only 2% appear on the list 10 or more of the 18 years. Drat! I now have a moving target for my wrath.

Whenever we hear commentary about the 1% or the 5% or the X% by income, a common inferences is that these are static groups with very little turnover - once you get into a top or bottom group, or a certain income percent,  you stay there for decades. The Poor are always poor. The Rich are ever Rich.

But reality is very different - people move up and down the income  percentage groups throughout their careers and lives. The top or bottom 1/5/10% are never the same people from year to year, because there is constant, dynamic turnover as we move up and down the income categories. So when you are told to lash out at The Rich, do so quickly. They might not be The Rich next year.

Number of Years in Top 400	Number of Taxpayers in Group	Percent of Taxpayers Represented by Each Group	Number of Returns in total Top 400 over 18-year Period	Percent of Returns Represented by Each Group
1	2,824	72.99%	2,824	39.22%
2	458	11.84	916	12.72
3	181	4.68	543	7.54
4	113	2.92	452	6.26
5	67	1.73	335	4.65
6	55	1.42	330	4.58
7	37	0.96	259	3.6
8	29	0.75	232	3.22
9	18	0.47	162	2.55
10 or more	87	2.25	1,147	15.93
Total	3,869	100%	7,200	100%