Thursday, May 29, 2003

The rich get theirs ...

and the poor get screwed. What a surprise!! A striking example of where the Republicans priorities lie: when squeezing out the new tax bill benefits went first to the wealthiest, then to those who don't earn much more than minimum wage. Unfortunately, they ran out of money before they got to the end of the line.

Because of the formula for calculating the credit, most families with incomes from $10,500 to $26,625 will not benefit. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal group, says those families include 11.9 million children, or one of every six children under 17.
"I don't know why they would cut that out of the bill," said Senator Blanche Lincoln, the Arkansas Democrat who persuaded the full Senate to send the credit to many more low income families before the provision was dropped in conference. "These are the people who need it the most and who will spend it the most. These are the people who buy the blue jeans and the detergent and who will stimulate the economy with their spending."
Ms. Lincoln noted that nearly half of all taxpayers in her state had adjusted gross incomes that were less than $20,000.
Tax Law Omits Child Credit in Low-Income Brackets

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