‘ MIDDLE CLASS’ IN EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Chicagoans differ on definitions as Congress tackles tax overhaul
When it comes to the pending massive tax code overhaul, it’s easier to make a populist political appeal to the “middle class” than for Congress or the Trump White House to define it in terms of income.
Interviews with Chicago area folks — and an online Chicago Sun- Times poll — reveal different views about what individual or household income is “middle class.”
“I would say middle class is somewhere between maybe $ 50,000 and $ 120,000,” said John Lajka, 21, of Roselle, a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “If it’s two people, I would say maybe up to $ 175,000.”
Lajka said his family is in the middle class. “Me personally? No.”
Zee Gray, 61, a South Shore resident and revenue accountant for Metra, said middleclass income for an individual is “between $ 30,000 and $ 40,000. Family, it’s about $ 50,000 give or take a few. It all depends,” she said, especially in how many kids are in a family.
The ‘ middle class’ target of GOP tax reform
The question of what income range takes in the “middle class” is on the table as Congress wrestles with the biggest tax overhaul since President Ronald Reagan signed the 1986 Tax Reform Act.
The Senate will vote on its version of tax reform as soon as this week, with the outcome uncertain. Any two GOP Senate defections can derail the bill, and not all Republicans are on board.
The House passed its rewrite of the tax code Nov. 16.
Democrats in the House were all no votes. Senate Democrats will also unite in opposition unless the legislation is revised. The House and Senate would have to merge their respective measures into one bill to send to Trump to sign.
Whether a person would pay lower taxes depends on many, many variables.
The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center preliminary analy- sis of the House bill concluded that “in 2018, all income groups would see their average taxes fall but some taxpayers in each group would face increases. Those with the very highest incomes would receive the biggest tax cuts.”
During a speech Wednesday in St. Charles, Missouri, Trump added a new claim that will be subject to scrutiny — that the GOP tax plans will also boost income for everyone. “Under our plan, middle- class families will not only see their tax bills go down, they will see their incomes go up by an average of around $ 4,000,” he said.
The politics of pitching to the “middle class” isn’t hard to figure out. That messaging is aimed at the wide swath of voters who see themselves — however it is defined — as neither rich nor poor.
It is an ambiguous, safe, inclusive term.
A state of mind?
Psychologically, it depends on how a person compares him or herself to others. A person in Kenilworth or Lake Forest who self- identifies as middle class may seem wealthy to someone living in Albany Park or Bridgeport.
U. S. Rep. Peter Roskam, RIll., is on the tax- writing House Ways and Means Committee and in a recent Sun- Times interview was asked what he considered middleclass income.
He had no specific number. Neither did Trump White House Council of Economic Advisers chair Kevin Hassett when asked several weeks ago. “This is so fascinating because when you talk about middle income, it’s a very broad description,” Roskam said.
“When you talk about who is wealthy, it is generally people saying, well, ‘ I’m not wealthy, it’s somebody else.’”
“And, we’ve had a wide range of opinions,” with places in the country “where $ 80,000 of household income is a whole lot of money, and you have other areas around the country where $ 80,000 is not a whole lot of money. So it really is in the eyes of the beholder.” And so it is. We also took to Twitter to find out what people consider “middle class” to be. Our unscientific poll confirms an even split in opinion. Of the 729 respondents:
6%: $ 25,000-$ 50,000
42%: $ 50,000-$ 75,000
45%: $ 75,000-$ 100,000
7%: Not sure Looking at the ChicagoNaperville- Elgin metropolitan area on the nonpartisan Pew Research Center’s online calculator reveals:
$ 40,000 is ranked middle income for one person but is considered lower income if that money has to cover a four- person household.
$ 80,000 is deemed upper income for an individual but ranks as middle income for a family of four.
A nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation projection of income on 2019 federal tax returns found 43 percent of returns would be $ 40,000 and less; 33 percent of returns would be between $ 40,000 and $ 100,000; and 23 percent from $ 100,000 and up.
Joe Moriarty, 58, of Jefferson Park, a transportation planner for the RTA, gauged middle- class income for one person between $ 40,000 and $ 80,000 and “double that” for a two- income household.
Mohit Patel, 21, of Bensenville, a student studying video game design, said middle- class income for an individual or household was about $ 40,000, with even $ 50,000 “a bit high.”
Picking a number is “a difficult question,” said Claudette Klimes, 75, a retired nurse from Elgin, who “guessed” $ 30,000 to $ 60,000 for a household.
Stella Miller, 23, a restaurant server from Lincoln Square, said around $ 30,000 a year or lower for an individual, $ 60,000 for a family.
Said Miller, “I feel people don’t really make that much anymore.”