by Joan McCarter - Mon Sep 13, 2010 at 07:30:15 AM PDT
Interesting revelation from Sen. David Vitter, that "virtually everybody" is rich.
"I hate to tell you, by Washington's definitions that [Melancon]'s using, virtually everybody in this audience is the wealthy."
That definition is $250K in annual income. As Beutler pointed out in the original TPM story, "the average household income in Louisiana was $43,635 in 2008."
This is the second time in recent memory that a Republican revealed this perspective. Last month, Washington Senate candidate Dino Rossi said something very similar:
Rossi argued that 2 1/2 million people in Washington benefit from the 2001 Bush tax cuts, the extension of which will be a major issue in Congress this fall. Rossi described as "this class warfare program" the Obama administration’s plan to extend the cuts enjoyed by middle-income taxpayers, while repealing tax cuts for high-income households.
Just over 105,000 families in Washington actually make more than $200K a year. So here's the question--is this an actual talking point that the NRSC is pushing, or do Republicans really think that everyone is rich? If they really do live so far removed from reality that they think the vast majority of people make more than $200,000, it'd sure explain a lot. Of course, we know that they think the only people who matter are in that bracket.
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