[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 18, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                DEMOCRATS' CURIOUS DEFINITION OF INCOME

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, here is a riddle that is very 
confusing to Americans: How does your $35,000 income turn into an 
income of $75,600? Answer: When liberal Democrats are doing the 
counting.
  According to the Census Bureau, 71 percent of the tax cuts from the 
Republican tax bill will go to people who earn between $20,000 and 
$75,000 a year. However, the administration says that over 77 percent 
of the tax cuts will go to people earning more than $75,000 a year.
  Who is right? Well, one has to understand that the administration 
figures what one earns does not count; what the administration counts 
is one's family economic income.
  Note: Say your family's income is $35,000. To that one will have to 
add, according to the administration, $18,000 for the rent one could 
get if one did not live in his house; $5,500 for the family health 
insurance his employer provides; $3,000 for the buildup in his pension; 
$2,000 a year for one's IRA contribution; $1,500 for the buildup of 
one's life insurance policy; $600 for one's parking space at work, and 
it goes on and on until your income is $75,600. The administration's 
tax books are cooked.

                          ____________________