It would be a ton with ~10% annualized returns on the SNP500 since 1985, especially if you reinvest dividends. Someone who lives very frugally can probably just live off the interest off that 400k alone and if they bank unitl a million, they can have a safe buffer and a comfortable lifestyle. If they reinvest all of it for fourty years since 1985 it’d be worth on the order of $10-25 million.
It’s actually quite stark how bad it’s gotten. I’d rather just give a kid that money to invest and have them live at home doing whatever work floats their fancy until they can live comfortably on interest alone.
Agree, and the $61,000 part is much of what this article is missing. Its a lot like "weep for those making $300,000/year" when most families are making less than half of that on average (almost a third, $122k if both family members are pulling average). However, taxes tell us they're not even doing that great.
If your family is reporting a family income of $122k, you're already at approximately the upper 25% threshold. The $61,000 number hides a really L-shaped distribution skewed heavily toward the $2,500,000+ crowd. Previously calculated 2024 statistics from another post.
in the most recent tax filing season data available (2024), there were tax returns of:
Top 1% Top 5% Top 10% Top 25% Top 50% Bottom 50% All Taxpayers
Number of Returns 1,535,899 7,679,495 15,358,991 38,397,477 76,794,954 76,794,954 153,589,908
Average Income Taxes Paid $653,730 $187,468 $108,251 $50,963 $27,891 $667 $14,279
Adjusted Gross Income (Millions) $3,872,395 $6,182,180 $7,745,525 $10,613,602 $13,191,209 $1,531,038 $14,722,247
If we then break those into the actual groups, and numbers per group, then we find their Average Per Capita Income
1 2-5 6-10 11-25 26-50 51-100
Number of Returns 1,535,899 6,143,596 7,679,496 23,038,486 38,397,477 76,794,954
Income Taxes Paid (Millions) $1,004,063 $435,594 $222,966 $294,234 $185,068 $51,225
Adjusted Gross Income (Millions) $3,872,395 $2,309,785 $1,563,345 $2,868,077 $2,577,607 $1,531,038
Average Tax Rate 25.9% 18.9% 14.3% 10.3% 7.2% 3.3%
Average Per Capita Income $2,521,256.28 $375,966.29 $203,573.91 $124,490.69 $67,129.59 $19,936.70
missedthecue|10 months ago
throwup238|10 months ago
It’s actually quite stark how bad it’s gotten. I’d rather just give a kid that money to invest and have them live at home doing whatever work floats their fancy until they can live comfortably on interest alone.
thephyber|10 months ago
A college degree in the industry you work in also means your job security is MUCH higher than those without a degree.
nitwit005|10 months ago
Also realistically, you're likely getting a loan, so you need to factor in interest.
araes|10 months ago
If your family is reporting a family income of $122k, you're already at approximately the upper 25% threshold. The $61,000 number hides a really L-shaped distribution skewed heavily toward the $2,500,000+ crowd. Previously calculated 2024 statistics from another post.
in the most recent tax filing season data available (2024), there were tax returns of:
If we then break those into the actual groups, and numbers per group, then we find their Average Per Capita Incomemoralestapia|10 months ago
(and there's nothing wrong with you expressing this opinion)
Not everyone in the US makes 500k TC doing remote work.
400k for a degree is absolute bonkers!