Middle Class Millionaires? I Don't Think So.

I read a very sad - and telling - letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal on Friday that speaks volumes about how much the right-wing spin about taxes and the wealthy has permeated society. A reader from Alamo, California wrote:

"It's not just the super-rich - the estate tax has a broader impact. For example, middle-class homes in many California communities now cost more than $1 million, so heirs would soon have to start selling the family home rather than the family farm."

Let's be very clear - if you buy a $1 million home, you are, by definition, not middle class. That's not to say that if you own a home and it appreciates in value to $1 million you aren't middle class - but that's not what this reader is talking about. He's claiming that middle-class people regularly BUY homes that cost more than $1 million. That's simply a lie.

First and foremost, this lie shows us how the wealthy liken themselves to not being that wealthy. Millionaires actually believe that they are not doing all that well - they seem to forget the average American makes about $43,500 a year. Second, this lie perpetuates more myths about the estate tax affecting lots of people. As the hard data shows, it affects less than two percent of Americans - and those it affects are primarily the super wealthy.