Emmanuel Saez, the economics professor from the University of California-Berkeley best known for analyzing IRS numbers that help characterize income inequality, recently released his preliminary estimates for 2013.
Professor Saez has determined that the share of total U.S. income that goes to the top 1 percent, excluding capital gains, is 17.5 percent. By this measure, the concentration of income among the wealthiest Americans remains at levels last observed nearly a century ago. As pointed out by economics writer Justin Wolfers, the 17.5 percent figure is below the 18.9 percent share calculated by Professor Saez for 2012. But it is important not to read into that too much since tax rates rose changed in 2013 and likely impacted the readings for both 2012 and 2013.
It is therefore much better to focus on the average of the past two years, and that average continues to support the narrative that the economic recovery has largely benefited the rich. After adjusting for inflation, the average income for the richest 1 percent has risen from $871,000 in 2009 to $968,000 over the 2012-2013 period. By contrast, average incomes fell by a few dollars for the remaining 99 percent.
