The first (dumb) thought that occurs to me ...

The first (dumb) thought that occurs to me when I see a chart like the one below is that the top 1% of income may jump much faster and higher than the bottom 20% -- but (stupidly) that since they represent a much smaller fraction of the overall workforce that that shouldn't take much from the bottom. (Sounds so sensible if you don't think.)

Then, I wake up and remember that the top 1% of incomes represents 23% (and growing) of overall income while the bottom 20% are the ones who get the tiny fraction of income: less than 2% (and going down).

http://blog.nj.com/njv_guest_blog/2014/01/why_gov_chris_christies_advise.html
Sources: U.S. Congressional Budget Office, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities