In Reply to: Re: Interesting poll results (continuation) posted by Alan on June 11, 2004 at 00:54:46:
Yes, I plea ignorance on the assumptions that those stats are based on. But here are a few observations. The median shows to be about 40K. This, as you know, means that 50% of the population makes less than that amount and the other 50% make more.
If you agree that there is a normal non-skewed (no kurtosis) distribution in the first half, the vast majority will be making about 20K, evenly distributed between 0 and 40. Since there is some wiggle room for thohse who make less than a certaina mount (I think it is 6K) the real extremes are 6K and 40K, the center of the normal curve is then not 20K but 17K plus 6 = 23K
Adding a couple of thousand just in case I have 25K.
Now, the other point is that this left half is bbounded on both sides, lower and upper boundaries while the 50% of people who make more than the 40K has no upper boundary. In other words, they can make millions of dollars, and in fact they do.
In the end, it doesn't matter if tax is paid all in a flat rate or different rates, etc. My point is that the vast majority of people who make about 25K end up paying from what they don't have as opposed to those in the higher branches who pay from the abundance that they have.
I appreciate your time diggin in those stats but I know enough about it to be suspicioues. For one thing, do you know if they consider wealth distribution as a continuous or discrete function? I don't, therefore I cannot even start reading them with enough information to make clear judgment. I imagine you do but since I don't that is why I stay away from all of that. To me it is a lot like Bible prophecy, every camp has their own interpretation.
And I still sustain that no voting is a vote in itself. Too bad nobody is listening to that group. On the other hand, some people promote this no-vote attitude as a matter of political agenda, for example republicans in the deep south. Like all those votes from black communities that were not counted in florida last time. I guess that is another subject.
You guys should be glad to know that I decided a while back not to get involved in the political machinery anymore. Neither democrats nor republicans would like me because Berg totally runined me for them. I cannot be a blind sheep anymore. What I would go for is a king, even a king George... (oops!)