Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Clarification: We're Dumb

I love it when newspapers issue "clarifications" regarding statements that were actually just flagrantly false. Here's USA Today, "clarifying" that a pay raise "could very well bump you into the next tax bracket, possibly leaving you with less money." As Jon Chait notes, there is no situation where a pay raise could leave you with less money due to increased taxes, because our tax system is graduated. Worse yet, the column was entitled "math tips". Come on, people -- even I can get this.

1 comment:

PG said...

That's a disturbingly common myth. I'd be curious to find what percentage of people who are middle-class yet oppose higher top marginal tax rates believe it.