Is everyone in Oregon rich?

That’s the conclusion I drew, after reading this AP lede:

PORTLAND, Ore. — If any Americans are willing to fork over more to state governments in 2010, it might just be those of Oregon, where voters are deciding the fate of two proposed tax increases that target the wealthy and corporations.

The people of Oregon might — just might — be willing to tax themselves… by targeting the wealthy. Hey, that’s what it says. Ergo, I conclude, everyone in Oregon is either wealthy or a corporation.

Next paragraph:

Oregon voters the past two weeks have been marking referendum ballots on two tax issues, one raising rates on people who make more than $125,000 a year in taxable income – $250,000 for joint filers – and on businesses, many of whom pay a minimum tax of $10 a year.

Okay, so we know that not everybody in Oregon makes that much money. What the reporter — Tim Fought — means is: Oregon is voting on whether to raise taxes on a small segment of their population. Oregon might be willing to tax a few of their own number, but not all.

You wonder why he wrote the lede like that, then. Hopefully, he was just looking for a clever turn of phrase. An interesting line or two. Something to make the reader want to read more.

A cynic – someone who distrusts the mainstream media as a liberal propaganda machine – might think otherwise. That cynic might see a pseudo-socialist pushing the idea however innocently that It’s All Our Money. Not your money. Not your paycheck. Ours. As in: us. The Collective.

There are no such cynics around here, of course, so we’ll go with the first one.

(Posted by The TrogloPundit)

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