Dtail
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I believe most people would say that it's 4%.
Else, if they had a gain of 300K and spent only 200K, they would have to say that they had a "negative" WR rate, and it does not make sense.
Or during the Great Recession when people's stash shrank by 30 to 40%, they did not say that their WR was that much, plus what they spent.
WR is expenses. Investment growth is like income. One is inflow, and the other is outflow.
PS. The Trinity Study looks at SWR (Safe WR) as a percentage of the original stash, with adjustment for inflation so that the two numbers are compatible. I prefer to look at WR as a percentage of the current stash.
Bolded by me
+1 I believe this is the way most look at it nowadays.