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Top 1% are the top 1% because their wages are meaningless rendering this headline meaningless - wealth is derived from investment and asset ownership.

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Top 1% by wealth maybe. In my experience, those in the top 1% by income are not that far off from the rest of the top 10% or so. Life looks easier, but they're still paying a mortgage and require a job to survive. I'd even wager some are still living paycheck to paycheck sadly.

Many are living paycheck to paycheck since most have a tendency to "live up to our paycheck" and purchase status symbols. I drove a 9 year old car in 2021. My pay increased 25% since then. I now drive an 11 year old car. A lot of people wouldn't.

Also, I just want to make a distinction between wage and income. The income of the top 1% should dwarf their wage. I recall many CEOs in the 80s and 90s famously claiming themselves wages of $1 per year, conveniently leaving out stock-based compensation and performance bonuses. Present CEO wages aren't as laughably low, but the overall income from their employment is not derived from wages but non-wage based compensation

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