Tax Policies Hurt 99% of Alabamians

The average middle-income Alabamian has received a tax cut totalling $1,815 per family member from 2001 to 2006, thanks to Bush administration tax policies. But the added share of national debt burden for that family is $8,797 per person. According to today’s news release from Alabama Arise that cites a new report (pdf file) from Citizens for Tax Justice, “That amounts to a net debt of $6,982 per middle-income Alabamian.”

More from the release:

In fact, when both the direct tax cuts and indirect debt hikes are accounted for side by side, only the wealthiest 1 percent of Alabamians see a net gain from the Bush fiscal policies. For this lucky group, a total six-year tax cut averaging $54,132 per person outweighs a debt burden of $35,378.

The other 99 percent of Alabamians receive a total six-year tax break averaging $2,184 per person but also face an added debt burden of $9,393.

“That means that 99 percent of Alabamians are saddled with $4.30 of new debt for every dollar of tax cuts,” said Kimble Forrister of Alabama Arise. “The Bush tax plan treats working families worse than a loan shark.”

So, for every dollar I get back, I get a bill for $4.30? This so I can put money in the pockets of the wealthiest 1% of Alabamians who make, on average, $825,000 per year?

Update: I added a clarification to try to address some misunderstanding expressed on another forum.