Capital Commerce

Insta-Poll of Delegates

By James Pethokoukis

Posted: August 26, 2008

Jimmy P. at the DNC—I took a poll of 24 Democratic delegates. I asked them how much money a person had to make a year to be considered "rich." Their choices were $250k or more, $500k or more, $750k or more, or $1 million or more. The results: 38 percent said $250k, 13 percent said $500k, 25 percent said $750k and 25 percent said $1 million. What's interesting about this is that their candidate sees $250,000 as the magic level at which wealthy people need to pay higher taxes. But 60 percent of Obama's own delegates don't seem to think that level of income makes one wealthy. I'll have a new poll tomorrow.

Obamanomics - Is $250,000 per Year Rich?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26408567

From the article:

"Presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama wants to raise taxes on Americans making over $250,000 per year. That may seem like a lot of money, but it depends a lot on where you live.

Someone with an income of $250,000 in Paducah, Ky., for instance, would need to make $586,000 in New York City to maintain the same lifesytlye. So, maybe Uncle Sam needs to work in a cost-of-living component to the tax code.

Using a cost of living calculator from Bankrate.com, we compared what $250,000 translates to in various parts of the country. Here's is a sample of what we found:

In contrast, a person making $250,000 in New York would only need $106,000 to live in Paducah. The biggest driver of the cost differences is housing. A comparable home in New York would cost $1.1 million vs. $0.2 million in Paducah. Rent for a comparable apartment, would be $3,425 vs. $550 per month.

Other costs are also significantly higher, but are much smaller in absolute terms - a doctor visit is nearly double, a hair cut is 50 percent higher and even bowling is three times more costly in NYC."

Nick of RI @ Aug 27, 2008 11:18:24 AM

What we do know...

Whether the Obama delegates agree with Obama's number or not, everyone making $250k and higher will be having to pay HIGHER TAXES under him...

Also, when Obama stated at Saddleback that those who will not be receiving tax hikes are in the $150k and below bracket, he interestingly omitted those making between $150-250k. So we can probably assume such an omission means that they will be receiving a TAX HIKE as well.

Personally, I think that we need a president who will put his foot down in order to get spending under control... if and when that ever happens and the federal government still doesn't have enough to run things... then, maybe, there might be a possibility of considering raising taxes. But to want to raise people's taxes with a slump in the economy and without controlling spending defies common sense.

David of FL @ Aug 27, 2008 01:45:02 AM

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Capital Commerce

Capital Commerce

U.S. News business reporter Matthew Bandyk examines the issues, people, and debates that shape the nexus of political and economic life in the nation's capital.

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