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Behind The Numbers Ramona Shindelheim ABC News January 24, 2004 The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll found that 43 percent of Americans approve of Bush's handling of the economy, while 53 percent disapprove. The poll also found that 61 percent of Americans believe the president's stimulus plan mostly benefits the wealthy. Bush and his economic team argue that it is not tilted toward the rich, but instead would help lower- and middle-class Americans. ABC News decided to take a closer look at the numbers, using the president's comments at a speech in St. Louis on Wednesday as our guidepost. We did our own calculations. But we also called the U.S. Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the Urban Institute-Brookings Institute Tax Policy Center and an independent certified public accountant for help crunching numbers. What the president said: What we found: However, this average is derived from all income levels and all estimated savings. This skews the number upward. According to the Urban Institute-Brookings Institute, 80 percent of all tax filers would receive less than the $1,083 average the president mentioned. Meanwhile, half of all tax filers would get less than $100. We asked the Treasury Department, which calculated the figure used by the president, to give us an estimate on the percentage of Americans receiving the $1,083. A spokesperson said the department could only provide us with the average savings. What the president said: What we found: We asked Doug Stives, a New Jersey-based CPA and tax expert, to crunch the numbers for a married couple with two children, earning $35,000. The marriage penalty and child tax credit changes would save them $1,098 a year.
What the president said: What we found: The Urban Institute-Brookings Institute calculated that 79 percent of small business owners would get less than the $2,042, with 52 percent getting less than $500. The government defines small business owners as anyone with small business income, including high-income earners who have some investments in small businesses. It is not limited to people who run small businesses on a day-to-day basis. What the president said: What we found: But that 46 percent accounts for just 19 percent of the dollar amount of dividend income earned. Here's the breakdown on the 34.1 million returns claiming dividend income in 2000.
What the president said: "The Council of Economic Advisers said these proposals over the next three years will create 2.1 million jobs." What we found:
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