General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: A message to those who think that someday they will benefit from GOP upper tax rates. [View all]hfojvt
(37,573 posts)somebody can think of themselves as non-rich, because they are surrounded by people who are even richer. That's why you step back and look at the percentiles - to show you the big picture you cannot see daily. If you are the 90th percentile in this country, then even though there are some people way, way above you (who are super-rich), there is 90% of the country below you, sometimes far below you.
As for the poor of the world or the privations of ancient history. Well, for one we have neither a world income tax nor a temporal income tax. And for the second, I would define them as super-poor. Granted, from their perspective, somebody making $8,000 a year is rich, but to define terms from their perspective would be to suggest that the way they live is normal, or acceptable - a decent way to live, rather than a way of life full of misery and suffering. If 2 billion are living on $2 a day, the other 5 billion are living much better than that.