by Dr. Reynaldo Guerra
I heard somebody say recently that if we just took all of the money the rich in this country have and redistribute it across the country, that that would end our economic problems. I thought it an interesting concept, so I decided to crunch some numbers (I know, I’m a nerd).
According to the Wall Street Journal, there were 3.1 million millionaires in the United States in 2010 (the most in history). The combined net worth of these millionaires was $11.6 trillion (up from $10.7 trillion in 2009).
According to the US Census, there are approximately 312.9 million people living in the United States.
Dividing $11.6 trillion by 312.9 million (e.g. spreading the millionaires’ net worth across the population of the country) yields about $37,000 per person. A nice sum of cash, but certainly not enough to solve the poverty issue facing our country.
Myth busted. In evaluating policy to bring us out of this recession, it seems that the only way to elevate the status of the poor in this country, in the world for that matter, is to create new wealth…on a massive scale.
Dr. Reynaldo Guerra is Chair of the Houston Civic Coalition and a local small business owner.
Note: 3rd Centavo is the new name of DosCentavos.net’s guest blog-post opportunity. If you have meaningful commentary you would like published, please submit to DosCentavos@gmail.com.
Rey,
I agree, when you crunch the numbers, it just dosen’t work. My thoughts are: Even if the amount redistributed was doubled, there are other factors that need to be addressed. Many individuals as well as families simply don’t know how to be good stewards. Teaching good stewardship is a great place to start. I have often wondered why so many people get thousands of dollars back in tax returns every year and have an opprotunity to apply it toward debt, but end up splurging instead. Another case in point, many of those who win a lottery sadly file for bankruptcy within 2 years (I think that’s the average). Additionally, we also have to consider the question of (hypothetically speaking), you and 3 other family members are multimillionaires, collectively, how would you respond to your hard earned wealth being redistributed accross the country with little or no guarantee that the effort would prove to be successful.
Rey,
I just finished reading your article and I agree, when you crunch the numbers, it just dosen’t work. My thoughts are: Even if the amount redistributed was doubled, there are other factors that need to be addressed. Many individuals as well as families simply don’t know how to be good stewards. Teaching good stewardship is a great place to start. I have often wondered why so many people get thousands of dollars back in tax returns every year and have an opprotunity to apply it toward debt, but end up splurging instead. Another case in point, many of those who win a lottery sadly file for bankruptcy within 2 years (I think that’s the average). Additionally, we also have to consider the question of (hypothetically speaking), you and 3 other family members are multimillionaires, collectively, how would you respond to your hard earned wealth being redistributed accross the country with little or no guarantee that the effort would prove to be successful.
Just curious, what about billionaires?