To the reactionary right, the enemy isn’t the one percent, which consists of scrappy, hard-working businessmen who create wealth and try only to keep as much of their just desserts for themselves. No, the primary driver of rising inequality in America is the ten percent: professionals who look down on the less educated, marry each other, live in gated communities, and seek unfair advantages for their kids. They’re the self-seeking, undeserving establishment that must be overthrown. They’re the big winners from the dollar store economy.
It’s a popular narrative, but the facts—at least in monetary terms—do not bear it out. The numbers show that professionals have managed to break even over the last forty years—nothing more. Their earnings have remained fairly stagnant, and while their investments have done well, they have far fewer assets than the one percent, so the benefits they have received from hefty corporate profits and low interest rates have been fairly limited. In addition, the internet is a threat to their traditional business practices; it provides consumers with low-cost alternatives to their services, but does not increase revenues.
In short, professionals are not, in fact, the primary beneficiaries of the dollar store economy—capitalists are.