The marriage tax benefit that helps most Americans actually serves most white Americans.

Evidence

However, for that to happen, the public needs to demand it—and for the public to demand repeal, they need to understand exactly how the same policy, so equitable on the surface, actually perpetuates inequality. When I told Kristen and Greg Galloway how marriage privileges the experience of a couple with their exact income, but only one working partner, Kristen said, “It almost leaves you speechless, it is so not fair.” … It’s time to reexamine the idea that “most Americans” get a tax benefit through marriage, and be honest about what we find: “Most Americans” means most white Americans. The sooner we understand that, the sooner we’ll have a productive answer to Greg’s question. But if we allow these misperceptions to remain, the answer, for the Galloways and other young black couples like them, will be: “We can’t.” — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth, 164

Categorization

• SEED: A possible essay angle: how the phrase ‘most Americans benefit’ functions as a racial euphemism when a policy advantage is actually concentrated among white households.
• XREF: connects to: The claim that most Americans benefit from the marriage tax is race-coded — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 166; White couples’ marriage bonuses reflect a single-wage-earner archetype built into tax policy — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 145; White taxpayers benefit from filing provisions that burden black Americans. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 536 (+5 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: The claim that most Americans benefit from the marriage tax is race-coded — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 166; White couples’ marriage bonuses reflect a single-wage-earner archetype built into tax policy — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 145; White taxpayers benefit from filing provisions that burden black Americans. — Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax…, 536 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Marriage yields tax cuts for whites but not for blacks #corroborates (0.95)