George W. Bush, in touting his 10-year, $1.6 trillion, “middle class” tax cut, has grateful citizens on TV holding up an oversize check for $1,600, representing the benefit to the average household.
The $1,600 figure apparently is the result of dividing 1.6 trillion by 10 years by the approximately 100 million U.S. households. Averages, however, can be deceiving. We’ve all heard about the man who drowned in water that was, on the average, 1 foot deep.
Critics claim, and Republicans unabashedly don’t deny, that 40 percent of the Bush tax-cut benefits will go to the wealthiest 1 percent of American households.
If we do the arithmetic, this means that $640 billion of the $1.6 trillion will go to the 1 million richest U. S. households, and that $960 billion will go to the other 99 million. This translates into a $64,000 annual tax break for the top 1 percent and $970 for the rest.
And there are significant disparities between what the upper and lower ends of the 99 percent will receive; for example, a single person earning $25,000 will realize only $300.
The next time President Bush trots out his grateful citizenry, he should include Donald Trump holding aloft his $64,000 annual windfall.
