Romney redefines middle income

Update: Others are interpreting Romney as saying, no, $100,000 is not the upper end of middle income, $200,000 or $250,000 is the upper end. When your middle income group includes the bottom of the top 10%, the word middle ceases to have any meaning. But, he’s not saying anything different than what Obama has been saying with his promise not to cut taxes on the middle class.

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In his big Good Morning America interview, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said that $100,000 is not middle income, that “middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less.” (More than $100,000, but less than $200,000?) Excerpt from the transcript after the jump.

Simply breathtaking. A family income of $200,000 puts that family in the 91st percentile (married filing jointly; all other categories $200,000 is higher). And, Stephanopoulos doesn’t even follow up*.

How can someone running for president be so staggeringly unaware of the income distribution in the country? And, it’s not like he’s just blowing up the middle to consume the whole. He specifically says $100,000 is not middle income. In each category, $100,000 is well above the median — from 67th percentile for married filing jointly to 98th percentile for head of household. He just has no clue.

This is a guy who claims he’s going to cut tax rates and close the deficit, without increasing taxes on middle income families. Not only is his plan completely devoid of details, now it’s not even clear what he means by middle income.

Excerpt:

MITT ROMNEY: Well, 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.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Is $100,000 middle income?

MITT ROMNEY: No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less. So number one, don’t reduce– or excuse me, don’t raise taxes on middle-income people, lower them. Number two, don’t reduce the share of taxes paid by the wealthiest. The top 5% will still pay the same share of taxes they pay today. That’s principle one, principle two. Principle three is create incentives for growth, make it easier for businesses to start and to add jobs. And finally, simplify the code, make it easier for people to pay their taxes than the way they have to now.

*Stephanopoulos also failed to follow up Romney’s claim that Obama lied during previous debates. Not even to ask Romney to cite a single example.

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