Wonk Room » McConnell’s ‘Middle Class’ Tax Cut Gives 10 Times More To Mega-Rich Than To Middle Class Families

McConnell’s ‘Middle Class’ Tax Cut Gives 10 Times More To Mega-Rich Than To Middle Class Families

By Ben Furnas on Jan 7th, 2009 at 11:33 am

McConnell’s ‘Middle Class’ Tax Cut Gives 10 Times More To Mega-Rich Than To Middle Class Families

On Sunday, during an appearance on ABC’s This Week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) proposed cutting the 25 percent tax bracket to 15 percent as part of an economic recovery, a move which he claims would cut taxes for “the middle class”:

But Republicans, by and large, think tax relief is a great way to get money to people immediately. A possibility would be to take a look at the 25 percent rate currently applied to the middle class, lower it to 15 percent.

While McConnell’s proposal would provide some limited ‘immediate’ relief, his cut would disproportionately benefit the super rich, not middle class Americans.

A new analysis from the Tax Policy Center finds that this tax change would lower taxes by less than $400 for average middle-class Americans, give a $4,000 tax break to those making over $2.8 million a year, and do nothing for households making less than $40,000.

For households with children the benefits are even more uneven. Families making less than $70,000 a year would see their taxes go down by an average of just $21 and those making between $70,000 and $140,000 would get even less. Households making over $600,000 with children, however, would get an average tax cut of $3,600.

While McConnell and the conservatives would like to dress this up as middle class relief, it’s really just another giveaway for the mega-rich.

Comments
11

11 Responses to “McConnell’s ‘Middle Class’ Tax Cut Gives 10 Times More To Mega-Rich Than To Middle Class Families”

GloomBoom Says:

What a waste. The rich get richer……….
January 7th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
stateofthedivision Says:

Now we know who Mitch considers middle class. That’s the problem with the Senate’s millionaires club.

A pox on all their houses.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
nel Says:

My plan (rough, simple and not taking budgets into account)

First $50k NO TAX, pay 25% on all earnings over $50k up to $200k then 33% on everything over that.
Add $1 or 2K tax free for each child under 18.

I have no idea if enough revenues would be raised with these exact figures but everyone gets the same tax break, even someone earning $10,000,000 per annum would get the first 50K tax free
January 7th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
susan Says:

I still believe a straight 10% tax across all would be fair and income producing…
if the loopholes are closed.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Earl Says:

Again, the Republicans fight hard to make the rich richer. They do stuff like this all the time — another example is the Medicare Part D drug progam, which is specifically prohibited from negotiating drug-cost discounts — making the drug companies fat and happy (and, just coincidentally, generous contributors to political campaigns)– and giving taxpayers (or, more likely, our descendents) the bill.

Then every election, like clockwork, the GOP discovers the little guy — the soccer mom, the NASCAR dad, country music (Lee Greenwood then, Hank Williams Jr in 2008), Joe the Plumber, hockey moms — and somehow talk a lot of these people into voting for the GOP — while the GOP in turns steals them blind (”Oh when will they ever learn?” the song goes). But it looks like the economic collapse of 2008 finally jolted the voters into demanding long-delayed
change.
January 9th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Gigi Jones Says:

I hope that everyone who reads this article, blasts their elected officials! Let them KNOW that this trick will not be tolerated again – will we let them fool us again?

Let them know the Obama plan as is must go through, and NOW! Not 6 months from now, but IN JANUARY 2009! No more BS from the GOP BS Experts!
January 9th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Vernon Warren Says:

You people have the opportunity of a lifetime to do what is right by the American people who have suffered enough from paying the rich to just get alone. Time is now to get it right or get out of my government. We do not need the likes of M. MacConnell guiding us into the lions den any longer….
GET IT OR GET OUT….

Vern Warren, Atlantic Mine, Mi.
January 9th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Paul Says:

So a average middle class family gets a tax break of 0.4% of their income and the rich get a break of 0.1% of theirs. Certainly a very different picture than the misleading alarmist plot and gets in the way of real discussion on the distribution of tax breaks.
January 9th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
murray bolger Says:

According to the chart above i would get a tax cut of around $250.00 and the rich would get a tax cut of$ 3600.00. To me this don’t seem right the rich should pay taxes according to how much money they make and not get breaks. On a weekly basis $300.00 are taken out of my pay check to go to taxes.I’d like to see that amount lowered.
January 10th, 2009 at 7:35 am
makkale Says:

So a average middle class family gets a tax break of 0.4% of their income and the rich get a break of 0.1% of theirs. Certainly a very different picture than the misleading alarmist plot and gets in the way of real discussion on the distribution of tax breaks.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Michael Says:

McConnel is taking the typical trickle-down ideological position accompanied by lack of regulation on the market and corporations. It’s the same old saw that put us into the manure pile as long ago. Somehow Cal Coolidge and Herbert Hoover were resurrected during the Reagan Years and have been very popular since among the un-Godly rich and powerful. We had a flow in the middle class that was turned to a trickle. We had regulations that were trimmed back and no new regulations for the new market strategies that came up. We’ve been “owned.” Perhaps this is the real meaning of the Republican’s “ownership society.” Perhaps the contract for America finally became the contract on America.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:17 pm