Viewed in this way, the grad tax looks like a good deal to middle-income taxpayers. So it's a good deal as long as your income never exceeds this amount. It's a good deal, too, as long as the increased tax rates imposed on high-income filers do not discourage them from working, saving or creating jobs in Massachusetts. The world, however, is not static. Changes in tax law do effect people s economic behavior.
People work and save less when they have less incentive to work and save.
Furthermore, taxpayers, do not expect their living standards to remain fixed for the rest of their working lives. They want and expect their living standards to improve. The American dream lives. It recognizes that changes in tax law affect taxpayers' economic decisions and that the economy itself tend to improve over time. It is odd that anyone would expect middle-income voters to adopt a static view of the economy.