FRANK BERNHEISEL

Where does the money go?

According to the U.S. Census, the median family income in 2012 was $51,371.

Assuming that is a family with only one person working, that person's hourly wage rate (assuming 40 hour week, 52 weeks per year) is $24.70. That is well above the minimum wage and, assuming benefits, does not sound too shabby.

In 2012, the family income to get one into the one percent level was $387,000 (the Wall Street Journal said $500,000 but we won't quibble).

Now we know that the folks in this percentile are the strivers so assuming they work 60 hour weeks, their hourly wage would be $186.06.

The WSJ, concerned about these families, recently did a video explaining why there is nothing left at the end of the year for the poor people living on incomes at the bottom of the one percent bracket.

Check it out here...

http://www.wsj.com/video/do-you-make-400000-a-year-but-feel-broke/387CA8E8-2C0F-449B-8F8F-7BBCF70EE954.html

Oh, and on top of everything else, this family had to live in Chicago.