A professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business shared the shocking results of a student poll that revealed many of them have no idea how much the average American worker makes, with one student suggesting $800,000 per year.
Nina Strohminger, an assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics in the Wharton School of Business, shared the results of the poll on Twitter Wednesday, which have quickly gone viral.
“I asked Wharton students what they thought the average American worker makes per year and 25% of them thought it was over six figures. One of them thought it was $800k. Really not sure what to make of this (The real number is $45k),” Strohminger first reported.
I asked Wharton students what they thought the average American worker makes per year and 25% of them thought it was over six figures. One of them thought it was $800k. Really not sure what to make of this (The real number is $45k)
— Nina Strohminger (@NinaStrohminger) January 20, 2022
In a follow-up regarding the popular post, Strohminger added additional reflections on the surprising survey results.
“A lot of people want to conclude that this says something special about Wharton students— I’m not sure it does. People are notoriously bad at making this kind of estimate, thinking the gap between rich and poor is smaller than it is,” she added.
“This was indeed why I asked [business] school students: I was curious if they were as biased as everyone else,” Strohminger concluded.
This was indeed why I asked bschool students: I was curious if they were as biased as everyone else. Further reading: https://t.co/OrvHCbdJO7 and https://t.co/glE3mu1a9X
— Nina Strohminger (@NinaStrohminger) January 20, 2022
Twitter quickly erupted with a variety of responses to the survey’s results.
“What kind of business is that business school teaching and why is it that students aren’t discussing employees in this socioeconomic bracket as they make up the majority of workers?” one user wrote.
Quite shameful. These people are probably being groomed to lead the very people they don't know.
What kind of business is that business school teaching and why is it that students aren't discussing employees in this socioeconomic bracket as they make up the majority of workers? pic.twitter.com/j6j3d2s6yX
— Marley K (@MarleyK20) January 20, 2022
Another professor responded with a shocking account of her own.
“One of my students asked me if $250k was an okay salary for a 25 year old,” Kathryn Martinez wrote.
One of my students asked me if $250k was an okay salary for a 25 year old.
— Kathryn Martinez (@ktmartinez) January 20, 2022
Even former Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson’s verified Twitter account jumped into the conversation.
“That’s chilling,” she wrote.
That’s chilling.
— Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) January 20, 2022
The report comes as the nation faces its highest inflation in nearly 40 years. The Daily Wire reported on Wednesday that the inflation in 2022 may actually increase more, according to the latest information:
Larry Lindsey — the director of the National Economic Council under President George W. Bush — is warning that inflation could be “above” 2021 levels in 2022.
In the month of December, consumer prices rose by 7% over the previous year — the highest rate in roughly four decades. Though nominal wages have been rising, “real average hourly earnings” — which consider the effect of inflation — decreased by 2.4% from December 2020 to December 2021, starkly cutting the purchasing power of American households.
During an interview with Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo, Lindsey — who also served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors through the 1990s — said that inflation is now “embedded into the labor market.”
“There is never an example of getting inflation to this level, embedded in the labor market and it ending without recession… I don’t think we’re going to have a recession this year,” he said. “Slower growth, maybe. So I don’t think there’s any chance at all decelerating inflation.”