Inequality for All Page #3

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and just thinking about

all the things that we need.

I don't have a way

of communicating

with Robert right now.

He doesn't have a phone,

so we have to wait for that.

I got to figure out...

we have to have enough,

you know,

food on the table for the kids.

$25 in your checking account,

that's got to be...

That's not very much.

No, it's not.

But, I mean,

it's Tues... it's Wednesday.

I'll survive today.

I'll look up in the pantry,

see what else is there to eat.

I have a full tank of gas,

so I'm fine on that part.

I don't need to go anywhere

right now.

When I was laid off,

I decided to go ahead

and pursue my degree

at that point.

Most of the classmates I have

are a lot younger than I am.

It's different

when you're reading about it

or somebody else's issues.

That's different from when

it's your own family's.

So when it hits home,

that's probably

the hardest part.

There is no official

definition of the middle class.

But Alan Krueger,

chairman of the Council

of Economic Advisors,

these are the percentage

of households

with annual incomes within 50%

of the median household.

$50,000, median income,

50% above, 50% below.

If you're in the top %1,

you're earning

at least $380,000 a year.

If you're at the lower end

of this group,

you're probably

at the top levels

of the professional fields,

a top doctor or a top lawyer.

Higher in this group,

earning several million dollars

a year,

are successful entrepreneurs

who start profitable companies.

At the highest levels, earning

$10 million a year or more,

are the CEOs of big companies,

the heads of Wall Street banks,

top entertainers,

and also the top sports stars.

Last year, we made $36,000,

and we're a family of three.

I think I probably make

in between $45,000 and $50,000

a year

working 70 hours a week,

six days a week.

Combined income with the army

and with my personal job,

maybe $55,000 to $60,000 a year.

Probably close to $600,000.

Usually more than $10 million,

less than $30 million

but, you know, a lot,

a ridiculous amount of money.

I am an entrepreneur

and venture capitalist.

My family owns a large

manufacturer of bed pillows

and down comforters called

Pacific Coast Feather Company.

We are, in fact,

one the largest manufacturers

of those things in the world.

The problem

with rising inequality is,

a person like me,

who earns 1,000 times as much

as the typical American,

doesn't buy 1,000 pillows

a year.

Even the richest people only

sleep on one or two pillows.

The pillow business

is quite tough,

as it is

for many, many industries,

because fewer and fewer people

can afford to buy

the products that we make.

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