According to a study by researchers at Cornell University the gap between high income earners–the top 1 percent–and everyone else has actually been shrinking, despite recent headlines to the contrary. The numbers behind the headlines have all come from a study done by Berkley economist Emmanuel Saez who found that the top 1 percent of earners in America collected more than one-fifth of the total income earned in 2012, and the top 10 percent of earners collected more than half of the total income. But according to the researchers at Cornell, Saez’s analysis did not include in his analysis available data for government transfers, fringe benefits and changing household structures. So, for example welfare checks, medicare or medicaid payments, social security or food stamps are not included in the analysis. Neither is non-pecuniary like health insurance. The upshot for the team from Cornell is that when these and other adjustments are made the numbers change dramatically. In fact, opposite conclusions are reached–the income gap has actually shrunk in recent years.