# Taxing the "rich"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-the-rich/590209>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [July 24, 2011, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-the-rich/590209 "2011-07-24T21:14:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 11

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-the-rich/590209/11 "2011-07-24T21:45:21Z")

</div>

> [@curlcoat](#):
>
> Could you provide at least one link? I just can’t believe that anyone would say that $250K a year isn’t rich - even here in the land of milk, honey and high prices, that’s a lot of money!

> [@Obama: Let's end the Bush tax cuts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-lets-end-the-bush-tax-cuts/578291/46):
>
> A starting teacher’s salary here is $34k. I’m happy to pay $50k in taxes for a $250,000/yr income.
> 
> It is a lot to \*most people \*because the less than 250k/year folk make is 98%$ of America. Middle and upper class distinctions are all kind of relative, though I wouldn’t call myself “rich” if I made 250k. I’d just have better health care, a nicer house, a nicer car, a better education and nicer shoes.

> [@Obama: Let's end the Bush tax cuts](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-lets-end-the-bush-tax-cuts/578291/32):
>
> Between me and my wife, we’re in the $250K ballpark, and no, we are not rich…at all

> [@Why are Republicans pushing to extend the Bush tax cuts?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-republicans-pushing-to-extend-the-bush-tax-cuts/547945/379):
>
> I can guarantee you that a family making $250K before taxes is decidedly middle class in the DC area.

> [@Health care horror story #13848732](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/health-care-horror-story-13848732/522612/449):
>
> The math does not work. There is no way that only taxing so-called “rich” people who make above a certain amount (used to be 250k, I don’t know what he’s lowered it to these days)

> [@US dopers, how do you define wealthy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-how-do-you-define-wealthy/519669/14):
>
> I can personally say 250K a year does not make you rich, but it does allow you to get on the road to rich.

That’s just a quick and dirty search, so maybe not the most prime examples.

But that’s besides my point. Even if you’re making 250k a year, your tax burden wouldn’t go up a cent. If you’re making 300k, you’d pay a little extra tax on that extra 50k. If you’re making 500k, then half your taxed dollars would go up by 3%, meaning that your total taxes go up by 1.5%. So even at the 500k level, they only see half the effect of the tax increase, and I’d say 500k is very much getting into “rich” territory.

Btw, in the part you replied to, I was saying I wasn’t going to post examples of the use of the term “rich”, with the scare quotes, because it’s so ubiquitous. I didn’t mean that people declaring 250k wasn’t rich didn’t need examples. But there some are, since you asked.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taxing-the-rich/590209)._