People
Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages.
— H. L. Mencken
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The confident announcement of progress is followed by a comparison that makes improvement sound like a larger tax bill. Money once received as wages is now dwarfed by money paid out. The joke turns a positive label against itself without offering the comparison as a complete economic argument.
Context reviewed