http://www.visualizingeconomics.com/2007/03/24/us-income-of-top-01-percent-vs-marginal-tax-rate/

why are the rich so rich?

lower taxes.

The rich are so rich because they own lots of securities.  Thus they don't get much "income", most of their money is from capital gains.

Now, how they got there, and how they stay there, is another story.

the graph is the % of income going to the top .1%

that has grown in the past 20 years.

your explanation about securities, well it might be true, doesn't apply.

Why wouldn't it be true? Capital begets capital. If the tax rate isn't high enough it get bigger year to year, compared to wage increases.

Er, I meant why wouldn't it apply.

Anyway, Americans ... top off that 2006 IRA on Monday.

the graph is about income

STH said "hus they don't get much "income""

well, unless he ment they do get much income

his reasoning doesn't apply to this graph

That chart has so many assumptions and ambiguities it's laughable.

The chart only displays approx. 2% change from just over 7% to a peak at 9.9% (but a realistic top of 8.6%). They don't tell you, but I'm going to assume, income is pre-tax income. How are we to know taxes weren't raised to make up for flagging government income? There's nothing in there about either the economy as a whole or the tax rate on the rest of the country, and so on and so forth.

it's just a graph, not a research paper.

now as a graph it still has its problems

I was a little annoyed that the low stretch 50s-70s has no label.

where are you getting 7% ?  from the left hand 7%?  it's orange. does it refer to a tax rate or a share of income %?

Here's a writeup on private equity firms which has finally explained to this prole what they are and what they do:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a0wzLWr5Lbm8&refer=columnist_lewis