Income Distribution #hastag

I pulled this chart out one of the "books" from ED695. It was interesting. I expected the numbers to be worse. The statement that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is only partially true. The rich seem to stay rich. The children of those in the top 20% are likely to stay in that income bracket. However, for someone that is born into poverty, chances are their children will move up in the world. The 45% who seem stuck in second (or more) generation poverty seems high, but it is important to remember that a random redistribution of income would lead to 20% across the board. The 9% who go from the bottom fifth to the top fifth is much more than I expected. It's not a one-in-thousand or a one-in-a-hundred story. It turns out that it is closer to one-in-eleven.

For middle income families, the distribution is almost perfectly spread. There is a 35% chance that their children will end up in the same income bracket, a 31% chance they will end up poorer than their parents and a 34% chance that they will end up richer than their parents.

Using the 2011 income distribution, here is what living in each fifth looks like: 

Lowest: 0 - $20,262

2nd Lowest: $20,262 - $38,520 {Ave. MIPS teacher starts  $34,724**}

Middle: $38,520 - $62,434

2nd Highest: $62,434 - $101,582

Highest: $101,582+

from Census.gov

If you are working in a large district suburban district, the superintendent pay may pass the $186,000 mark for the top 5%.

**This is the average in Michigan for all first year public school teachers, regardless of education, resume, or location.