Taxes and the middle class

Former Oregon Senator Bob Packwood writes in the NY Times that "we basically have two options: raise taxes on the middle class, or demand that federal, state and local governments spend less." But his "middle class" appears to include households making up to $250,000 a year, a figure which he took from President Obama's promise to limit tax increases to folks making more than that.

Look, everyone is allowed to have their own definition, but the Census Bureau says that in 2007 the cut-off to be in the highest income 20% of American households was $100,000, and that the cut-off to be in the highest income 5% was $177,000.