MusicAdventurer
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I'm aware of what median income is, and depending on whether you mean lower or upper middle class, it can range from 75 to 150 percent of the median -- right around what we need. It's a perfectly valid graph to all but hair-splitters, seeing as how there is no textbook definition of what the middle class even is.
Also, be aware that the "top 400 families" in a nation of this size and wealth is a ridiculous measure. The top 400 will always be disproportionate. A much more sensible measure is quintiles --- and as you can see, the rate for the top quintile is higher than 16. I think THIS graph is what tessaesque was referring to when she said that top earners pay 30%. And essentially, she's right.
As I do not know the source of your graph, nor the monetary representations of any of those quintile groups .. perhaps you could provide that info in a graph and cite your source? Additionally, its funny how you decided to avoid setting a definition for the middle class (other than the unreliable median measurement) in order to compare them to the top 5%.
Again, it's not that I disagree or agree with what you are saying, I am just asking for source cited data using appropriate statistical measurements. There's nothing wrong with including several statistics in one post, e.g. average, mode, median etc. ... just try to avoid using only one measurement, as that can often lead to misleading conclusions.