I gather that the New York Times has abolished or “reformed” its copy editing desk, or is using some other fancy euphemism to explain away the ongoing “reduction in force” moves it has been taking as it lives up to Trump’s description of it as a “failing newspaper.” But sometimes there appears a sentence that ought to make some adult in the room realize they’ve taken these reductions too far.

Today’s Binyamin Applebaum’s story on how Trump’s tax cut plan helps the rich, this sentence appears:

The plan would not benefit lower-income households that do not pay federal income taxes.

So let’s see: a tax cut doesn’t help people who don’t pay taxes. Whoa! What a concept! Let that sink in a minute. Next the Times will be telling us that gravity affects heavy objects—including large rocks! Sunglasses won’t protect you from the glare of the sun—at night!