Where the top of the 1 percent lives (hint: not mostly NYC)
“Based on Where the Top 1 Percent Lives, the Occupy Crowd Should Be Protesting Against Big Government.”
So says Cato’s Dan Mitchell, who takes an MSN Money report on the 15 U.S. counties (the highest one-half of 1 percent) with the highest per capita income and creates this map:
Map of wealthy counties near D.C. (source: International Liberty blog by Dan Mitchell)
The stars, as you may have guessed, represent counties in the top 15. You’ll notice there are 10 such stars — meaning two-thirds of America’s very richest counties are suburbs of the nation’s capital. That includes the three highest-earning counties and four of the top five. By comparison, suburbs of New York City account for only four of the top 15. (The 15th is just south of Denver.)
Here’s a sampling of what the MSN report had to say about some of these counties:
15. Charles County, Md.: “The first of five Maryland counties to make our list, Charles’ population grew 21.6 percent in the first decade of the 21st century.” (From Kyle: Hmm…21.6 percent growth during a decade when federal spending almost doubled.)
No. 14 St. Mary’s County, Md.: “The median household income in St. Mary’s skyrocketed from about $72,000 in 2009 to more than $88,000 in 2010, the biggest percentage increase (roughly 22 percent) on our richest-counties list.” (From Kyle: Federal spending increased by 16 percent between fiscal 2008, which included the beginning of calendar 2009, and fiscal 2010, which included the end of calendar 2010.)
No.2 Fairfax County, Va.: “Langley (headquarters of the CIA) is within the county, so government employees must be making a decent amount of money these days. Also, the unemployment rate in the county has been astoundingly low historically, hitting 1.4% in 1999, when the national rate was 4.3%.” (From Kyle: Nuff said.)
While there has been a spate of reports about the relatively higher pay among federal employees compared to their private-sector peers, that factor alone cannot account for this concentration of wealth. Clearly, the rent-seeking business is booming like never before.
Both factors owe directly to the growth in federal government. Which gets back to Mitchell’s original point.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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133 comments Add your comment
JV
February 22nd, 2012
1:47 pm
According to a September 2011 study by the nonprofit watchdog group the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), the outsourcing of federal services (at the time a $300 billion annual expense for taxpayers) actually costs more than doing the work in-house.
Though outsourcing is designed to both save money and enhance agency flexibility, the POGO study’s authors say their fresh methodology shows that most savings are illusory — and that in some cases agencies are paying contractor employees twice or even five times the rate for a federal worker.
They found that while federal workers are paid slightly more in benefits than private sector employees in general — a 36.25 percent benefit rate versus 33.5 percent for private employees — contractors’ employees were paid more by the hour in 33 of the 35 categories. The government pays contractors 1.83 times more than it pays federal employees in total compensation, and more than twice the total compensation paid in the private sector for comparable services. The only area where outsourcing saved money, Amey said, is the familiar service of grounds keeping, which contractors can perform at a cost of 20 percent less than federal staff.
A POGO investigator and the organization’s General Counsel say too many private studies comparing pay… “rely on misleading data from the private sector instead of contractor billing rates. They should measure what it costs to have private contractors do the work.”
Dusty
February 22nd, 2012
2:00 pm
Well, I guess we want the best and the brightest to be running our country. But that many at those salaries to make it some of the richest counties in the USA? That seems a bit much. Too much $$$ or too many workers? Both?
Considering the fact that DC has some of the worst schools in the nation, I assume these rich workers are not sending their children to public schools in D.C. Obama is not sending his to public schools there either..
UGA 1999
February 22nd, 2012
2:05 pm
Kyle, does Westchester County, NY make the list? I have a rental property up there.
Junior Samples
February 22nd, 2012
2:07 pm
Which President has sent their school aged children to public schools? I’ll give you a hint, he was from Georgia.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
February 22nd, 2012
2:07 pm
The evil rich government workers mostly live in the MD and VA suburbs, which have better public schools than DC. DC parents are just glad if their kids make it home alive after making their way through Obozo’s crime-infested city.
Do what??????
February 22nd, 2012
2:09 pm
Alright, Obamabots. Here’s a dose of reality for you and it ain’t pretty.
http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/02/22/florida-drivers-shelling-out-nearly-6-a-gallon-at-some-gas-stations/
Do what??????
February 22nd, 2012
2:09 pm
” I’ll give you a hint, he was from Georgia.”
Yeah, but then he put her in the most expensive private school in GA.
Junior Samples
February 22nd, 2012
2:15 pm
The point being it’s a security risk (and distraction for the rest of the kids, teachers, etc…) for any President’s children to be in public schools. For someone to state the “President isn’t sending his children to public schools either” is ridiculous and outdated.
Junior Samples
February 22nd, 2012
2:19 pm
Wow, I am completely and utterly shocked that gas prices next to the largest theme park in entire United Stats of America has the highest gas prices.
Shocked I tell ‘ya.
UGA 1999
February 22nd, 2012
2:20 pm
Junior….Most higher income families do not go to public schools…Why do you think that is?
Do what??????
February 22nd, 2012
2:23 pm
“I am completely and utterly shocked that gas prices next to the largest theme park in entire United Stats of America has the highest gas prices.”
Considering it’s Florida and not California. Yes.
Dusty
February 22nd, 2012
2:26 pm
Junior Samples, 2:15
When did it get outdated to want SAFE public schools? I think schools should be safe for all children.
The president’s children will have extra security no matter what school they attend.
What you are saying is that schools are so bad even security could not protect the president’s children. Sadly, that may be true.
But saying that the president’s children do not go to public school is not rediculous.. Just a fact that parents in D.C. might understand very well.
jconservative
February 22nd, 2012
2:28 pm
I worked in the DC area in the early 1960’s and most of these counties were the haven to the top 1% then. With an exception: Calvert County where I spent every day for 2 summers was dirt poor. Obviously it has changed!
PS – the Chesapeake Bay area is an absolutely wonderful place.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
February 22nd, 2012
2:28 pm
Presidents send their kids to private schools for the superior education. It has zero to do with security.
UGA 1999
February 22nd, 2012
2:31 pm
Lil…..I think that is correct.
@@
February 22nd, 2012
2:37 pm
Junior:
I don’t expect any president to send his children to public school. Under the circumstances (crime rate) he shouldn’t be forcing low-income families to send their children there either.
President Obama’s 2013 budget request not only recklessly increases funding for the Department of Education by another 3.5 percent (taking the bloated agency’s budget to $68.9 billion), it brazenly eliminates funding for the highly successful D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
Not that long ago, President Obama said on the Today show that he would not send his own children to D.C. public schools. For seemingly political reasons, Obama has decided to stand in solidarity with the education special-interest groups and against this highly successful school-choice program.
More than 1,600 low-income children are currently enrolled in the D.C. OSP, and receive vouchers of $8,000 ($12,000 for high-school students) to attend a private school of their choice that meets their needs. In a city with the worst-performing and most dangerous public schools in the country, the vouchers have been a lifeline to a brighter future for these children.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/291021/obama-budget-eliminates-dc-voucher-funding-lindsey-burke
Junior Samples
February 22nd, 2012
2:42 pm
Dusty…
Your 3rd sentence @ 2:26 was the point I was making. Public schools are generally larger than private ones, especially the ones our Presidential offspring attend. Easier to protect.
It’s easier to understand someone when you’re not putting words in their mouth. But I guess that defeats your motive.
Later…
JKL2
February 22nd, 2012
2:42 pm
Chris Christie to Warren Buffet “Shut up and write a check if you want to contribute more to the government”
You have to love that man…
MarkV
February 22nd, 2012
2:43 pm
Kyle,
What is your point about federal employees being paid overall more than in the private sector? How about making a headline and summary as follows:
Private sector companies pay less than the federal government.
While private sector companies pay more to highly educated professional employees, they do not pay living wages and sufficient benefits to less educated workers.
@@
February 22nd, 2012
2:48 pm
Why don’t you kump on Jennifer Hauser of CNN for her GA Lottery win last week?
I’m happy for Ms. Hauser. Granted, she didn’t earn it the hard
way…nevertheless…it’s hers now, not mine.
I suck at gambling. Give me $20…a nickle slot and I’ll have hours of fun. I’m up, I’m down, I’m up again until I’m broke. That $20 goes a long way.
UGA 1999
February 22nd, 2012
2:50 pm
@@…I agree. However she actually did “earn” it. She bought the winning ticket didn’t she?
Daniel
February 22nd, 2012
2:56 pm
Kyle -
Your post has a couple flaws…
First, the MSN article you cite doesn’t actually have data about the top 1% of earners. The counties listed have the highest median incomes; the only connection the article makes is “Here’s where some of the nation’s 1% live,” which doesn’t actually mean anything. For your argument to work, you need data on the concentration of earners making $350k or more. Maybe it’d be the same list of counties, but as it stands, that’s not what your evidence suggests.
Second, even if you did have the evidence to support you claim, you’re still arguing a correlation. Your post basically reads, “Because federal workers live where rich people live, federal workers must be rich.” It doesn’t make sense. You need something to demonstrate that the 1% in those counties are actually federal employees. And the CBO report you link in the comments works against you here, since it looks like even top end federal incomes aren’t even close to being in the top 1%. On top of that, government lawyers, accountants, MBAs/MPAs, and PHDs (in other words, the most skilled workers) make less than their private sector counterparts, which cuts directly against your argument.
Having worked for a defense contractor in Alexandria, Virginia, I would guess that most of the wealth in the D.C. suburbs is from the owners/senior managers at government contracting firms. If you want to cut amount of money we spend on contracting, I’m totally with you, but those people aren’t federal employees.
ragnar danneskjold
February 22nd, 2012
3:12 pm
Other than the military, there is nothing our government does that is essential. If we eliminated everything that is not military, or social security, or medicare, or any other giveaways that the graspers whine about, would we not still eliminate 50% of bureaucrats? A couple of other ideas, (1) move all bureaucrats earning more than $50,000 to Minot, ND, and (2) abolish all non-military pensions, use only 401ks. The problem would correct itself.
@@
February 22nd, 2012
3:14 pm
UGA:
However she actually did “earn” it. She bought the winning ticket didn’t she?
I was talking labor. She got a hefty return on her investment.
I MIGHT buy a ticket 3 times a year. Not sure who got my portion of the investment. I always wait until I’m at some remote little store in rural Georgia. I’ve convinced myself that that’s where the winners are.
Hooray for all those who took a chance and won.
This one’s for Hillbilly.
Federal prosecutors in Charleston, W.Va., have filed the most serious criminal charges yet in the April, 2010, coal mine explosion that left 29 mine workers dead.
The conspiracy charges reach into the management ranks of Massey Energy and signal an effort to seek evidence against higher-level executives.
The wheels of justice are too often slow. When it comes to crooked politicians, they’re seized up by rust.
Hillbilly D
February 22nd, 2012
3:15 pm
I suck at gambling. Give me $20…a nickle slot and I’ll have hours of fun.
You do know that the odds of winning at a slot machine are the lowest of any game at a Casino? At least if you play cards or something, you have some chance to affect the outcome. Slots are pure luck.
Stephenson Billings
February 22nd, 2012
3:15 pm
One of the things we’re paying them for:
Feds: Fresh milk 150 times more dangerous than pasteurized dairy
“The federal government said Tuesday that fresh milk is 150 times more dangerous than pasteurized milk — a finding that bolsters the government’s argument as it goes after farmers who sell unpasteurized milk across state lines.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/feb/21/feds-fresh-milk-150-times-dangerous-pasteurized/
Hillbilly D
February 22nd, 2012
3:19 pm
@@
If they find those people guilty, they ought to line ‘em up and shoot ‘em.
More than once, in my working life, I’ve been told to disable some kind of safety equipment. Sometimes. I either just didn’t do it or flat refused, if it was something I felt was seriously dangerous.
And I’ve also heard the “the OSHA inspector is coming today” talk, too.
Hillbilly D
February 22nd, 2012
3:22 pm
I know people who’ve been drinking raw milk, all their lives. They’re way older than me (insert your own punchline here). I see nothing wrong with selling raw milk, as long as it is clearly labeled as such and there is no attempt to deceive.
Kyle Wingfield
February 22nd, 2012
3:34 pm
Stephenson: That’s way too long of a C&P. Just a short excerpt and a link, please.
Stephenson Billings
February 22nd, 2012
3:38 pm
Sorry. Here ya go: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204880404577225493025537660.html
Kyle Wingfield
February 22nd, 2012
3:41 pm
Daniel @ 2:56: As I wrote in the OP, we are talking about “the highest one-half of 1 percent” of counties. There are 3,141 counties in the U.S.; the top 0.5 percent equals 15. I’m sorry if that wasn’t as clear as it could have been.
As for the rest of your comment: You seem to have missed the penultimate paragraph:
“While there has been a spate of reports about the relatively higher pay among federal employees compared to their private-sector peers, that factor alone cannot account for this concentration of wealth. Clearly, the rent-seeking business is booming like never before.”
Those two things (along with others) combined refer to “big government,” which in no way means only “federal workers.”
Kyle Wingfield
February 22nd, 2012
3:42 pm
MarkV: Because I don’t agree with the “they do not pay living wages” part. In any case, your framing isn’t more objective…it merely reflects your opinion.
Kyle Wingfield
February 22nd, 2012
3:44 pm
Chris: I’m not in the habit of publishing people’s email addresses on this blog, unless they are the public email addresses of elected officials.
Dusty
February 22nd, 2012
3:48 pm
I think we really need a tightwad, conservative government!!! REALLY, REALLY NEED ONE!!
It seems, if you give government “an inch, they take a mile”. It won’t be long before we have to be inspected or licensed to turn over in bed.
I know we need some controls but how far do we take this? We should not smoke, eat junk food, drink fresh milk, dig a hole in the ground, cut down a tree, fish/drive/shoot without a license or play slot machines. etc.etc.etc. Freedom is a big old concept fast moving out of our universe. Personal responsibility is being replaced by crowd control, the government, an extravagant government at that..
Liberty? Liberty? Where’s Patrick Henry when you need him??
Do what??????
February 22nd, 2012
3:50 pm
“Chris: I’m not in the habit of publishing people’s email addresses on this blog, unless they are the public email addresses of elected officials.”
Who’s Chris?
Do what??????
February 22nd, 2012
3:52 pm
Well, ole Bookman is all pissed off because GA outlawed abortions. Guess his fellow baby killer friends will have to go somewhere else now.
Hillbilly D
February 22nd, 2012
3:56 pm
Where’s Patrick Henry when you need him??
Henry’s view of things lost out to the Washington/Hamilton view over 200 years ago. Not a good thing, in my opinion, but I don’t ever see it turning around. The Hamiltonians consolidated their gains in the latter half of the 19th century.
MarkV
February 22nd, 2012
4:27 pm
Kyle Wingfield @3:42 pm “MarkV: Because I don’t agree with the “they do not pay living wages” part. In any case, your framing isn’t more objective…it merely reflects your opinion.”
Kyle, just like your framing reflects your opinion. I have on my side, however, those many who point out to income inequality as a major source of friction and dissatisfaction. (I do not like the term “income inequality,” however, because it appears to suggest that incomes should be equal. I prefer “income disparity or “income disproportion.”)
Road Scholar
February 22nd, 2012
4:27 pm
How is the % of college grads, masters, and phD’S in this area compare to other areas/states? How about lobbyists and government contractors (private sector)? Security: FBI,CIA, TSA,etc.? Top military? Congressional staff?
Many do not know what it really cost to hire experts; they do not work for minimum wage!!!1
@@
February 22nd, 2012
4:39 pm
Hillbilly:
You do know that the odds of winning at a slot machine are the lowest of any game at a Casino? At least if you play cards or something, you have some chance to affect the outcome. Slots are pure luck.
I’ll leave the cards to my husband. He’s good with ‘em. He encouraged me to join him at a blackjack table once. The people on either side of me got frustrated. I think something I did screwed up their chances.
Slots don’t complain.
Linda
February 22nd, 2012
4:52 pm
One of the Ten Commandments (not suggestions) is “You shall not covet…”
Only heathens are jealous of others. High income workers are not necessarily rich. Rich people don’t always have high incomes. Regardless, high earners & the rich are not evil, arrogant, mean, deceitful, greedy unworthy vultures.
There has always been & will always be inequality, disparity & disproportion among earnings & net worth. We are guaranteed equal opportunities but not equal outcomes.
Pray that those who are the most fortunate will remember those who aren’t. We all benefit from the generosity of those who can afford & who do contribute to our hospitals, universities & charities.
P.S. Isn’t it funny that those who are green with envy are also those that support the green agenda that is ruining our economy?
Acer706
February 22nd, 2012
4:55 pm
DC Gives Me The CREEPS!
Everyone is Living Off of Taxpayers That They Will Never Have To Answer to.
Our tax dollars should not all go to one area.
MarkV
February 22nd, 2012
5:02 pm
It is incredibly callous and superficial to attribute any criticism of income disproportion to envy, jealousy, class warfare, etc. It is done by people who have no concept of fairness.
Dusty
February 22nd, 2012
5:14 pm
Hillbilly D, 3:56
Wouldn’t you know I’m 200 years behind (and hanging out with Patrick Henry)? Hasn’t been a good day!
Not sure I like those Hamiltons. Poor ol’ Alexander was killed in a duel, wasn’t he? They knew how to settle an argument in those days. Quick and inexpensive except for the funeral.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
February 22nd, 2012
5:16 pm
Philadelphia’s two daily newspapers have long been accused of liberal bias, but critics say a group of potential buyers led by former Gov. Ed Rendell would turn the papers into mere mouthpieces of the Democratic Party in a 2012 swing state.
Then they would be just like the Urinal.
dbm
February 22nd, 2012
5:19 pm
Jefferson
February 22nd, 2012
1:24 pm
There aren’t many people that want government to go away.
There are a lot that think it would be a lot better if ir were a lot smaller.
Michael H. Smith
February 22nd, 2012
5:44 pm
Keep track of how many times the comrades on the left use the following words: fair, fairness and fair share. These are leftwing code words that will be used repeatedly in all democrat talking points this election cycle.
Let’s see what the comrades concepts of fairness truly are if any of them dare to answer this question:
Is it fair to take from the rich because they are rich and give it to the poor because they are poor?
Dusty
February 22nd, 2012
5:52 pm
MarkV
May I ask if you are writing a thesis on the disillusionment of democracy or some such subject? Your choice of words seems to show rejection of ordinary common sense and language and little contact with the real world.. Monastery? Fraternity house? Embassy?
People have been complaining about wages every since the first penny was earned. The communists picked that up right away and said that everyone should receive the same wages, land, houses, and they would see that everybody got it equally. As was said “some were more equal than others”.
I am only guessing that you are trying for “the betterment of mankind”. but you give no mention to the differences of humankind that so often result in assorted levels of income. You do not seem to see the difference in abilites, fair or unfair. But they are there and most of us know it. There is no way to correct all human frailties even as we try.
Be a little less aggressive. You might get more understanding.
Michael H. Smith
February 22nd, 2012
5:59 pm
dbm
The federal government should only provide about ten percent of our total need of government, the rest of all the government we need should be provided by our States, Counties and Cities.
It is past time that every one of us demand, not request, of those who we elect to stop growing the federal government has it has been done year after year by both major political parties. The federal government must be drastically reduced in its’ size and scope.
@@
February 22nd, 2012
6:01 pm
Since we’re discussing wealth within the state of Virginia, thought I’d mention a neighbor of mine. Worth millions. His favorite pastime is traveling up to Virginia’s Appalachian region…doing what he can. He often solicits our church’s help.
His story is one of those rags to riches accounts. An amazing individual.
In exchange for helping him coordinate things at church, he lets me ride his quarter horses whenever I have time.
YeeHaw!