George Carlin - It’s A Big Club & You Ain’t In It!
George Carlin had a net worth of $10 million at the time of his death in 2008.
Adjusted for inflation that would be $14,653,441 in 2024.
The minimum net worth of the top 1% of households is roughly $13.7 million.
So, Carlin was in the “big club” of the 1%.
First, while 10 or 13 million is of course enough to be considered very rich, if every guy with 10+ million got to decide national policy it wouldn’t be much of an oligarchy. “The 1%” is a catchy soundbite but in reality it’s more like the 0.01% that’s the problem.
Second, even if that were the case, an advocate for the people is an advocate for the people. Bernie Sanders isn’t poor but he’s one of the most dedicated and effective advocates for the working class there is. You can be well off and still be working for the betterment of your fellow citizens. You probably can’t be a billionaire and still credibly fight for more equality though. Gets tough to explain hoarding that kind of wealth.
I’ve used this example before to try to make people understand your point:
10 million seconds is a little less than four months
10 billion seconds is over 300 years
Q: What’s the difference between 10 million dollars and a billion dollars?
A: Roughly a billion dollars.