Romney Misses the ‘Middle Income’ Mark

After admitting to “Good Morning America” host George Stephanopoulos that he hasn’t read a Harvard professor’s report that he cites as justifying his economic plan, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney defined “middle income” as earning between $200,000 and $250,000 a year.

If that figure were true, Romney would have to admit that a majority of Americans live in poverty or near-poverty and that his so-called tax breaks would not benefit most people. As Salon’s Jillian Rayfield reports, new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau put the current median household income at just over $50,000 a year.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

George Stephanopoulos at ABC News:

When I pressed Romney on that point, he conceded that he actually hadn’t read the Feldstein report that he and Paul Ryan cite on the campaign trail.

“I haven’t seen his precise study,” he said.

“I said that there are five different studies that point out that we can get to a balanced budget without raising taxes on middle income people. Let me tell you, George, the fundamentals of my tax policy are these. Number one, reduce tax burdens on middle-income people. So no one can say my plan is going to raise taxes on middle-income people, because principle number one is keep the burden down on middle-income taxpayers,” he said.

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