There is a lot of discussion of economic class in America right now. As those on the left begin to target billionaires, many economists are arguing that upper middle class Americans are victims in today's economy, and even more people are raising their voices to protest the cycle of poverty many lower class Americans are trapped in. But how do you place yourself in the midst of this national conversation? Could you say definitively which class you fall into? How can you partake in this important national conversation if you don't know the facts.

While people often think of economic classes as lower class, middle class, upper middle class, and upper class, the truth is more nuanced. In reality, there are three socio-economic groups to be considered particularly in conversations regarding government benefits or taxation rates. The first is the infamous top 1%, a group whose income has grown significantly since 1980, increasing as much as 400%, a rate that is significantly faster than the growth rate of the economy in that same time period.

Then, there is the upper middle class who make $120,000 to $425,000 a year post tax, and fall into the 90th to 99th percentile of income distribution. Since 1980, this section has been growing at about the same pace as the economy, remaining mostly neck and neck with the GDP.

Finally, there is the bottom 90th percentile of households, that make up the entirety of the final class. Though this group is more encompassing than you probably assumed, this is indeed a more accurate picture of the reality of the American tax system. This class has increasingly trailed the growth of the economy since 1980, meaning that they have held less and less of American wealth as time has gone on.

So what does all of this indicate? First and foremost, the upper middle class is right where they need to be. Their income is growing steadily as the economy prospers and they're taxed at a rate that allows for reasonable upward mobility. Meanwhile, the top 1%, whose growth consistently outpaces the economy, needs to be taxed at higher rates in order to allow for wealth redistribution to the bottom 90%, whose stagnancy indicates bad things for the American economy. Essentially, rising out of that bottom 90%, given current tax rates and economic possibilities, is a near impossible task, meaning that it's time to cut the taxes of this sector of the American population. A healthy and successful country is not measured by the total amount of wealth, but the distribution of that wealth, and it's time lawmakers take this into account.