Congress’ New Tax Overhaul

Once again the government has socked it to the middle class, while pretending this is not the case. This time, they’ve done it with semantics.

Suddenly, the middle-income wage earner has been classified as “affluent.” Who are the folks in Washington kidding? An income of $50,000 to $60,000 may have qualified you for an affluent label back when you could purchase a nice home for that amount. But today? When it costs two to three times that amount to buy a house?

If my two wage-earner family is affluent, I wonder what that makes Ronald Reagan?

And speaking of two wage-earner family, how about that penalty for what has become an increasingly typical family as husbands and wives find they can’t survive on one income? And how about that penalty for trying to save money for your future?

The message of the new tax bill is loud and clear. Don’t work hard--you wouldn’t want to take a chance on becoming affluent. Don’t save (or try to save) money for your future, either. Just hope there’s still room on the streets for you when your time comes. Because you can be sure the government won’t help you out, providing it’s still around.

JORIAN CLAIR

Los Angeles