In fact, it puts a family in the top 3%.
And I tell you something. I make about $45K a year and I'm single. I don't have to support anyone but me and my cat. I look at my paycheck and I pay less than $70 a week into Social Security and Medicare. AND THAT'S NOT ENOUGH!
After the personal exemption and standard deduction, and if I don't put a nickel into my IRA, I pay a total tax rate of 10%. If it wasn't for the hundreds of billions wasted on the MIC, I would say RAISE MY TAXES.
I am lucky. I make close to the median household income and it's just little old me. I can live in a one bedroom apartment. My car is paid for. I realize that a family making my income would struggle, and I wouldn't dream of suggesting their income tax be raised. And I recognize that different states have different costs of living.
But let's look at a family if 4, 2 parents with 2 kid, making $153000. That's triple the median family income. They don't consider themselves rich. On the tax table they'll have SOME of their income in the 33% bracket. But after exemptions for each family member, just the standard deduction and the child care tax credit, they will ultimately pay less than 18% of their gross income in federal income tax. If they have more deductions through itemizing, their burden is even less. And if this family has a single breadwinner, they don't pay SS tax on the top 34K, reducing their SS tax liability to 4.8%. Of course earners who make more pay a smaller total percentage of their income to SS.
So yes, I think they could pay a little more. $153K gross income puts them in the top 8%. The $250K limit that Obama suggested is the top 3%. That's not too high, it's too damn low.
Personally, I think the capital gains rate should be raised to the regular income tax rates for higher incomes. And for higher incomes I think capital gains should be subject to SS and Medicare taxes as well. Of course the cap should be raised substantially and eventually eliminated. It makes sense to me to do these things first. THEN and only then, after getting military spending under control, we can talk about raising taxes on the middle class.