James Pilgrim

Pilgrim letter to the Gainesville Times

Community Forum: Tax cuts offer real relief for families


POSTED May 10, 2008 1 a.m.

I don't know anything about the mythical Alexander Tyler that Michael Parker wrote about in his April 2 letter. I do know, though, that President Bush's tax cuts delivered real benefits to real middle-class families, especially families with children; not $2,000 for a family of four making $40,000, but "only" $1,740.

Since Mr. Parker claims these cuts are "a fraud," he might want to consider a big fan of those cuts who is not a Republican, namely, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Baucus is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and is trying to preserve the cuts. He is fighting Democrats who have cut the child tax credit in half and eliminated other of the president's cuts. (see the Finance Committee's Web site,
finance.senate.gov, for details).

Another suggestion would be to read President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address in which the he noted what the cuts would do for a couple with two children and making $40,000 a year. It would cut their federal income taxes from $1,785 to $45. It's not the $2,000 Mr. Parker speaks of, but the $1,740 cut is real and sizeable, not mythical. (The child income credit as raised by the president allows up to $1,000 for each child.)

Mr. Parker might also want to go to the site of the Heritage Foundation where he can find a tax calculator that shows how the cuts would affect single and joint filers, with or without children. He would see that the federal taxes of a couple with three children and making $50,000 were cut from $1,620 to $88. He will see that filers with children ages 17 and younger benefit far more than those without children, which is why it so important to middle-class families.

Taxes are, of course, complex. These numbers are based on a filer taking the standard deduction, which the president raised from $7,950 to $9,500. Some families would have more deductions and their taxes would be lower. It also figures in the elimination of the marriage penalty and other Bush cuts.
Certainly not all who benefit get anywhere near $2,000 because our federal tax system is so progressive. A family of four paying only $500 in federal taxes could get no more than a $500 benefit. President Bush's cuts took another 3.5 million filers off the federal tax roles.)

But if Mr. Parker seems set in his beliefs, I don't suppose any of this evidence will matter, not even Sen. Baucus' efforts to save these cuts the House Democrats are trying to eliminate.

Poor James Pilgrim.

I didn't write any letter to the Times on April 2nd.

And, if we check at the Heritage Foundation, the calculator does not support Pilgrim's figures or the President's figures. Check for yourself at www.heritage.org. Using that calculator shows a possible savings of $1133. The fine print also says, ... you can not use this information to file your taxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is Pilgrim just making things up?

I know he is. After all, he's defending George Bush and the Republican Party.