In a Sept. 14, 2012, interview with ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Romney pledged that his administration would not raise taxes on middle-income people. Responding to a question from host George Stephanopoulos on whether $100,000 counted as middle income, Romney said: “No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less.”
Romney’s campaign later clarified that he was referring to household income and not individual income. But the remark reinforced the view that he is out of touch with the issues facing ordinary Americans.
The Obama administration has also referred to the first $250,000 of income as defining a middle-class income range, but without the same level of criticism. A White House graphic on extending the middle-class tax cuts for families making over $250,000 a year describes lower tax rates on the first $250,000 of income as “affecting 114 million middle-class families.”
