According to tax economists, many families in the middle of the middle-class today would be too rich to benefit from President Clinton's "middle-class" tax cuts that are to take effect in 1998.

For a married couple who are both working and raising two or more children:

• The Census Bureau reports that the median (average) for such an income family in 1995 was $60,782, and is conservatively projected to rise to $70,000 by 1998.

• The president's proposed tax cuts phase out for families earning between $60,000 and $75,000.

• Thus by 1998 today's middle-class family would be too rich to qualify for the full child tax credit -- economists estimate it would receive only $267 of the $800 in tax credits available for two children.

Analysts observe that if only the father worked, earning $45,000, then the president's plan would afford the family the full $800 tax cuts. If the mother goes to work for $25,000, however, the same family immediately becomes too "rich" to qualify for the full credits.

Editorial, "The Middle Class Mr. Clinton is Missing," Washington Times, July 18, 1997.