No, not the "L" word, the "L" curve. It's a graph of the income distribution in the United States. The source at the link below is a few years old, but I was listening to The Thom Hartmann Show on the radio today, and he was explaining what the "L" curve is. If you don't know about it, it will probably surprise you.
Imagine that a football field represents, from one end to the other, the income range of Americans from $0 on one end, to the very richest at the other. You'd think that the line would slope upward from the "poor" goal post to the "rich" one, maybe not quite 45-degrees, but at least a slant. You'd (and I'd) be wrong. The line is shaped like an "L" (hence the name of the "curve"), barely moving upward until it gets far past the rich folks' 10-yard line. Then it shoots up, up and away.
I don't have a particular axe to grind with rich people just for the fact that they have lots of money. But check out the link, it just might blow you away. To give you an idea, my particular household is at about the 95 yard line. The 95! You would think that would make us rich, but. . .well. . .nope. Like you and almost everybody else, we're still a winning lotto ticket away from a touchdown.
[Excerpt]
Tour of the US Income Distribution,"The L-Curve"
The L-Curve graph represents income, not wealth. The distribution of wealth is even more skewed. [snip]
Median US family income (the family at the 50 yard line) is ~$40,000 (a stack of $100 bills 1.6 inches high.) [snip]
The curve reaches $1 million (a 40 inch high stack of $100 bills) one foot from the goal line.
From there it keeps going up...it goes up 30 miles on this scale!
Read more at: LCurve.org
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