[familyofman]

"Did they adjust for the Bush tax cuts?"

Not even relevant - the report is on incomes before taxes, not after.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

This is a report on 2002 returns, i.e. during the Clinton recession. This is not a report on 2003 or on 2004 thus far. Of course Clinton's recession hurt the economy, that is one of the myriad reasons George Bush cut taxes: to stimulate the economy.

Gloom and doom are the property of Democrats, return them immediately.

[Frank_Discussion]

Ok. Just asking.

[kevkrom]

the report is on incomes before taxes, not after

Not entirely correct. The report is on adjusted gross income (AGI), which means that, if I'm not mistaken, additional dependent-child and charitable contribution tax credits passed in 2001 would reduce overall AGI.

Nevertheless, the drop in income comes primarily from the $200k+ brackets. A vast number of filers in this bracket are actually small businesses filing as individuals -- no one should be surprised that in the Clinton recession and followed by 9/11, a lot of small businesses tanked.

[ex-snook]

"Did they adjust for the Bush tax cuts?"

Not even relevant - the report is on incomes before taxes, not after.

Right you are. Those tax cuts were to improve the economy and also ending the double taxation was to spur job growth. So those jobs must be out there somewhere. Hope they show up by election day or Snow will really be replaced.