Because, despite Hanauer’s impressive lifestyle—his family owns a plane—most of the $9+ million just goes straight into the bank (where it either sits and earns interest or gets invested in companies that ultimately need strong demand to sell products and create jobs).

If that $9+ million had gone to 9,000 families instead of Hanauer, it would almost certainly have been pumped right back into the economy via consumption (i.e., demand). And, in so doing, it would have created more jobs.

Hanauer estimates that, if most American families were taking home the same share of the national income that they were taking home 30 years ago, every family would have another $10,000 of disposable income to spend.

That, Hanauer points out, would have a huge impact on demand—and, thereby job creation.

It’s time we stopped mouthing the fiction that “rich people create jobs.”

Rich people don’t create jobs.

Our economy creates jobs.