Borat: I think what is being missed here is what we in accounting call the weighted average. The top 1% of earners in this country earn (or, more importantly, control) a staggering percentage of the wealth.

You very correctly point out that while the WSJ article discusses various earning brackets, it conspicuously avoids mentioning the very top percentage or percentages. Breaking the data into quartiles allows for some deft manipulation of the numbers.

I am an avowed conservative, but even I will admit to being infuriated when I see how those that occupy that stratum have ginned the system ruthlessly. Or as the Golden Rule says: “Those with the gold, make the rules”.