The 12 House Republicans who voted “no” on the tax cut bill represent an extraordinarily wealthy slice of the economy.
Look at it this way: The median congressional district by household income is California’s 22nd, with an income of $52,172. Of the 12 Republicans who voted “no,” 10 come from above-median districts. In fact, most of the “no” votes (7 of 12), come from districts with a median household income greater than $75,000, placing them in the 50 wealthiest congressional districts, or the top 11 percent.
The causation of this correlation? Probably the bill’s repeal of the deduction for state and local taxes (the “SALT deduction”). That’s a deduction overwhelmingly claimed by the wealthy — 88 percent of the benefit is claimed by six-figure earners.
GOP “no” votes and their district’s median household income
Leonard Lance, NJ: $105,386
Rodney Frelinghuysen, NJ: $100,143
Peter King, NY: $85,976
Lee Zeldin, NY: $84,668
Dana Rohrabacher, CA: $83,425
Darrell Issa, CA: $77,025
Chris Smith, NJ: $75,857
Dan Donovon, NY: $62,766
Frank LoBiondo, NJ: $57,765
John Faso, NY: $56,626
MEDIAN US DISTRICT
Elise Stefanik, NY: $51,653
Walter Jones, NY: $46,272
