In the past few days, Democrats have repeatedly cited a recent report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) regarding trends in household income to support their never-ending quest for more deficit spending.  The crux of the Democrats’ argument is their belief that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, which they claim supports their call for more taxes on the rich and more spending on the poor.  To listen to Democrats’ rhetoric, “the rich” and “the poor” sound like they remain the same year in and year out.

But the facts show that large numbers become either richer or poorer over relatively short periods of time.  As the following table prepared by Mark Perry of the American Enterprise Institute shows, between just 2001 and 2007, 44 percent of those in the lowest 20 percent of the income ladder (i.e. “the poor”) moved up to a higher income quintile – that is, became “richer”.  Further, 34 percent of those in the highest 20 percent (i.e. “the rich”) moved to a lower income quintile – that is, they became “poorer.”  In fact, tens of thousands of “the poor” and “the rich” traded places between 2001 and 2007 – with 2 percent of “the poor” becoming “the rich,” and 5 percent of “the rich” becoming “the poor” in the course of just these six years:
 

 
The economic growth and job creation this country needs will only be possible if we first work to get our debt and deficits under control and stop promoting class warfare as an excuse for more job-destroying tax hikes.