Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

I recently had a chance to interview First District Congressman James Comer about the tax cuts that Congress is considering.  He told me that the bill would help most people in his district but if you read many of the reports in the mainstream press, you'd think the tax cuts only help the rich. Comer explained that the median income in the First District is $28,000 and 80 percent of constituents don't itemize their taxes. Now, the bill doubles the standard deduction which means most taxpayers—80 percent in fact, would benefit. On average they'd receive a tax break of between $700-$1000, which means more money in their pockets. Big news media likes to play up how Congress' tax cuts will help the rich, but their news reports would be more credible if they'd also report how much they'd benefit the poor.