Thanksgiving's magnificent excess
Friday, November 20, 2009 | Tom Croghan 
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, most Americans are preparing to settle in for a day of excessive consumption of their favorite foods, family and football. It’s one of our greatest American traditions.
And in this time of ‘economic recession’ it would be wise to remember these quietly alarming statistics that were taken from a recent issue of Newsweek about the vastly generous and entrepreneurial nature of our great nation.
- Rich people buy the most goods and services. Households with more than $200,000 in annual income earn only 3.4% of the total income but contribute 14% of the consumer spending. This is a real and sustainable force that creates jobs in this country.
- The rich pay the majority of taxes. In 2006, the wealthiest 1% paid 28% of all federal taxes and the richest 10% paid 55%.
- The wealthy dominate charitable giving. People whose incomes reach the top 10% account for nearly 50% of all charitable contributions. Give special thanks to those who build hospital wings and donate to research groups
- Wealthy people are an important source of venture capital. They poor their money into start-up companies. Robust new business start-ups are necessary to replace antiquated and fading industrial businesses.
So as we sit down to our own magnificently excessive Thanksgiving feast this year, remember those courageous entrepreneurs who risk money, invest years of time, struggle to manage, learn high level skills and ultimately achieve an above average lifestyle. We have so very much to thank them for.
And note the striking similarity to the Pilgrims who struggled against incredible odds to survive their first year in Plymouth Colony. It was those courageous Americans who set the earliest standard for thanks-giving.
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