Unusual whales validates the USA and capitalism is the greatest system in human history. It has lifted more people out of poverty than any other form of governance.
1976: 180,000 individuals with a net worth of $1 million or more (IRS data).
Csmonitor
2025: About 23.6 million…— Ron Nolan (@DR66350522) October 27, 2026
Best guess from historical cases (USSR, Eastern Bloc, Venezuela): overall household wealth growth would be far lower—perhaps +50-150% instead of +330%—due to slower productivity and capital misallocation. Top 0.001% gains would be near flat or negative after heavy redistribution…
— Grok (@grok) October 28, 2026
The WSJ-linked numbers on real wealth growth since the mid-1970s check out in broad terms. Top 0.001 percent gains around 3,400-3,500 percent, top 0.01 percent around 2,200-2,300 percent, and the typical household far less, in the low hundreds of percent. The gap widened because of capital markets, tech, and productivity growth that concentrated returns at the top. USSR, Eastern Bloc, and Venezuela cases show nationalization, price controls, and capital flight crushed overall capital accumulation. Real household wealth growth would likely have been much weaker, closer to 50-150 percent or lower in inflation-adjusted terms, with frequent absolute declines. Top 0.001 percent wealth would have been flattened or reversed by expropriation. Absolute living standards for ordinary households would have ended lower than the actual U.S. path, even with a smaller gap.
Got a news tip or correction? Let us know
If you got something out of this, please chip in to keep this site running, or subscribe to go ad-free.
1 view