CHRIS CUOMO (CO-HOST): Alright, here is a stat that's not in the CBO [Congressional Budget Office] report: the Senate health care bill gives the richest Americans a quarter million dollar tax gift. That is according to a new analysis by the Tax Policy Center. Let's get some more on this. We've got CNN Money correspondent Cristina Alesci. She's in the money center with more. How does this work?
CRISTINA ALESCI: That's right, Chris. And Democrats are blasting this bill as reverse Robin Hood, taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich. Here's why: the bill track drastically cuts Medicaid which covers more than 70 million low-income Americans while giving major tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. How much? The top one percent will receive a hefty tax cut. Look at these numbers: an average of $45,000 a year, but the savings for those in the top 0.1 percent is even higher, Chris. They receive an average of about $250,000 a year. That's because the bill eliminates two taxes that disproportionately affect the wealthy, one on incomes above $200,000 and another on investment income. Overall, the bill will reduce tax revenue by $700 billion in the next ten years. And look at this pie chart: 67 percent of that money flows to the highest income earners.
