All Depends on How You Look at It

This completely-unsurprising article in the New York Times points out that a full 1/3 of the Bush tax cuts went to the top 1% of the income-earners. Both sides of the aisle are going to spin the report to their advantage. The Democrats are going to point out that a disproportionate amount of the tax breaks went to the rich. True, sort of. More than 1% of the tax break went to the top 1%, but the top 1% pays more than 1% of the total tax collected. Meanwhile the Republicans are going to point out that the report cited also indicates that people in almost every tax bracket got a break. Also true, sort of. Keyword: "almost." It's a nice way of saying that some people got left out, but not a whole lot so we'll hope you don't notice them. "Almost" is like the word "virtually" in advertising. They are both positive ways of saying "not quite." Think about that next time you buy into a virtually foolproof plan or want virtually spotless dishes.