If I never see this figure in print again, it will be too soon. I always thought it was a big mistake for the President to paint himself into a corner by drawing an arbitrary line between the so-called "affluent" and the so-called "middle-class": First, because there are plenty of people making less than that amount who could stand to have their taxes raised just a bit (I'm one of them, and I don't even make half that much); and second, because it narrows the scope over what constitutes "revenue" in our political discourse. Put another way, it diverts attention away from tax increases which should be no-brainers---capital gains and estate taxes, especially; and maybe a carbon tax too?---and it plays right into the hands of the LooneyTooners' mouth-foaming about evil big government that's robbing you of the fruits of your labor (rather than, say, the fruits of your investments or the fruits of your inheritance). The point, is there are many more taxes besides taxes on income, and they should be front-and-center in our discussion of "tax reform." They're not, and this silly fixation on $250,000 is a big reason why.
There's also the little matter of the corporate income tax, which all Serious Persons seem to agree need to be lowered, even though the exact opposite is true.
---Baron V
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