More middle class people have fallen out of the workforce over the past 8 years. Hard to pay taxes when you don’t make any money.
With the deductions, credits, exemptions etc, it is easy to see how these numbers come about. Middle class income has been relatively flat for many years.
My point is, when one is not paying any tax, it is hard to get them excited to provide any tax relief for anyone else.
I’ve pointed out in my early years, almost everyone who earned more than about 1500 PAID income tax. The average salary then was in the low double digits.