Half of Americans who earned more than $1 million in a year did so only once between 1999 and 2007 while a mere 6% did so all nine years

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Bernie Sanders takes grief for the fruits of his capitalist labors. Excerpt:

"A 2015 study by sociologists at Cornell and Washington University in St. Louis of 44 years of income data found that about 12% of the U.S. population will rank in the top 1% for at least one year; 39% in the top 5% for at least a year; 56% in the top 10%; and 73% in the top 20%. At the same time only about 0.6% of people will stay in the top 1% for 10 consecutive years.

The reality is that most Americans will experience periods of both economic insecurity and relative affluence. Consider presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who worked odd jobs during his youth and later developed a software company before running for public office. Between 2009 and 2017, he and his wife reported between $163,000 and $496,000 in income depending on their investment interest payments, dividends and capital gains. Incomes of other Democratic candidates including Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand have also varied over time.

The Tax Foundation has found that half of Americans who earned more than $1 million in a year did so only once between 1999 and 2007 while a mere 6% did so all nine years. This isn’t surprising since most “millionaires” become so for a variety of reasons that don’t last.

Perhaps they finally reach the executive suite after a long career; or they realize capital gains from stock or small business sales after lifetimes of thrift and investment; or perhaps they sell a home that has risen in value over decades. Raising the top marginal rate or the capital-gains tax punishes these folks for sound life and economic choices and reduces the incentive for everyone to save and invest."