Income vs Wealth Debate

Commenters repeatedly distinguish between income and wealth, critique conflations in analyses or charts, and advocate for using disposable income, cost of living adjustments, or household income instead of raw income.

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#1165
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Keywords

US usda.gov OP GP HN www.ers income wealth disposable income incomes disposable welfare household household income spending income taxes

Sample Comments

kenjackson Apr 30, 2023 View on HN

Doesn’t income have the same issue?

qntty Nov 8, 2017 View on HN

You're looking at income, not wealth

AnthonyMouse Jun 1, 2013 View on HN

Do you expect that to still hold if you account for income level?

pc86 Feb 1, 2017 View on HN

I see you slipped in the word "wealth" when the GP specifically mentioned "income." Any reason for choosing one over the other?

mistercheph Jul 5, 2023 View on HN

It probably depends on their income more than anything.

seattle_spring Jun 24, 2020 View on HN

Seems like we're conflating wealth with income?

altcognito Feb 4, 2025 View on HN

Now change it to comparing disposable income.

casefields Jun 1, 2018 View on HN

No, it has to do with disposable income.

redwood Mar 28, 2021 View on HN

Looks only at "income" while ignoring wealth

pinkmuffinere Dec 15, 2025 View on HN

What is it about if not income?