the upper 0.1%... of what?

I just read this article in time magazine (usually not too bad btw), and it left me wondering.
Who the hell wrote this drivle?

Basically, it discusses why we, the non-millionaires, dislike the really filthy rich.
The core of the message is that we dont dislike Hank, who earned 100 million dollars from his successful business, but comes from a working class background and has married his high school sweetheart.
We DO dislike Mr. Rich Guy Who Is Also In Politics, And Looks Down On Hank (poor Hank).
Why? Well, its obvious, isnt it. Hank is the American Dream. Upwards mobility made flesh, although even poor Hank has hit his glass ceiling when he met the "new upper class" as Mr Murray calls them.

The article starts quite well.
It says:

The Pew Foundation discovered in a recent poll that tensions over inequality in wealth now outrank tensions over race and immigration.

Ok, some data, research, facts, and a new view on the divide between rich and poor.

Next it goes wrong...

But income inequality isn’t really the problem.

What?? Excuse me??? What IS the problem than?

A new upper class is the problem. And their wealth isn’t what sets them apart or creates so much animosity toward them.

Of course!!
Ehhhmm.. wait a moment.... Nope, I still dont get it...

Ok, reading on Mr Murray explains that the difference between Hank and the New Upper Class is that the New Upper Class (im gonna call them NUC from here on) has power, holds on to that, forms an elite society, divorced from the rest of society and wont let Hank in.
So, upward mobility has a limit, so why should people even try.

Its unfair, boo hoo!

What the F*CK?

Quite frankly, Id settle for Mr Hanks 100 Million Dollars! And I think most people would.
And I think the problem has a completely different cause.

You see, I have the highest form of education one can get. In this IM in the 0.1%! Masters degree, PhD in immunology, etc. Im well educated, not stupid and I work 10-12 hours a day.
I dont waste money, I live in a flat and go to work by bike.

Yet.... The chance of me ever earning enough money to move to Hanks neighbourhood is so close to zero, that I dont even want to think about it. It depresses me. Id like to have a big house, a cleaning lady to do all those unpleasant things in the house, enough money not to worry about it when Im on holiday, or perhaps to modestly retire when Im still young enough to pick up golf. Enough money to live that lifestyle which TV bombards us with so regularly with fancy cars, expensive booze and luxury living. But thinking about that leads to disappointment, frustration and unhappiness.
Dont get me wrong, Im a happy camper. I like what I have, I love my life etc. A few million for a Bugatti veyron, a BMW R1200GS and a sailing yacht, along with free time to enjoy them would just make me love it a bit more.

But realistically the chance that this dream will even come true is just about ziltch.
No matter how hard I work, no matter how hard I try, no matter how many risks I take.

And Im more likely to make it there than most, due to my education level... Which means that Im lucky, and for most people the realistic chance is less than Ziltch...
And That is the real problem Mr Murray.

Not Hanks glass ceiling.
No.
The fact that Hank apparently deserves to get rewards in excess of a thousand times that of any one of his employees, no matter how hard they work, or no matter how instrumental they are in making his millions.
The lottery that decides that out of all the equally hardworking and deserving people a very few get to keep most of the cake, leaving the rest squabling over crumbs, feeling left behind.
There is no rationally behind this. Success in business is not for the deserving, its for those both extremely lucky and fairly ruthless.

So is this way the earnings of the many are hoarded by the few. If those Hank Millions would be distributed a bit more fairly amongst those people he needed to earn those millions, they might hate Hank less. Now they see that their hard work is used for Mrs. Hanks new Range Rover evoque, while they cant pay to have their wifes 10 year old ford fixed.
I dont think Mr. Factory Worker for Hank cares if the NUC welcome Hank into their ranks or not. I think they want a fair days pay for a fair days work. And I think they have just as much right to some of the money they helped Hank earn as Hank himself. He couldnt have made it without them after all.

As long as we accept that some Hardworking people are rewarded thousands of times more than other also Hardworking people, this financial frustration will only grow. They is no justification for anyone earning more than a million a year (call me a socialist if you will, but I believe that enough money to live handsomely and buy a new ferrari every year should suffice for anyone).
Anyone earning more than this should ask themselves what gives them the right. Are the so much better than other people?