[the bottle let me down]

If life was fair, the Federal Government would adjust the brackets for inflation.

Reagan won that battle in the 1980s. The brackets are indexed for inflation. They are not, however, indexed for real wage growth.

[Jeff Smith]

27k in 2002 does not equal 27k in 1986. I'm guessing 27k in '86 equaled someething like 40k today. The 15% bracket should expand. BTW, that was the centerpiece of John McCain's tax cut.