Kamla and Rowley in one percent?

THE EDITOR: Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar recently criticised Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley for serving the interests of the “one per cent.” But what defines the top one per cent income bracket in TT?

The Central Statistical Office does not break down income groups by such precise percentages, but the CSO does list three per cent of households as having a monthly income of over $25,000.

Applying Pareto’s power law, two per cent of households will have a monthly income of over $50,000 and one per cent will have a household income over $200,000 per month.

The Prime Minister’s salary is $48,000 per month while the Opposition Leader’s is $29,000. This puts them, as individuals, in the three per cent. However, since Rowley is married to a lawyer and land developer and Persad-Bissessar is married to a medical doctor, it is quite possible that both their households fall within the one per cent.

ELTON SINGH, Couva