Earlier today in Saraosta, Florida, Marco Rubio gave a speech to supporters outlining his views on economic policy, and contrasting himself with Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton.
Rubio opened by claiming that the media obsesses over the wrong polls: political polls. Rubio, who is rising in some polls but still trailing Donald Trump in nationwide polls, says the real polls to look are of citizens’ views on the economy.
Rubio went on to say that he, too, feels the American Dream is dying. Why? “It’s not dying because our people have changed. They haven’t. It’s dying because both parties in Washington have let us down.”
This is a common refrain for Rubio: times have changed, and we need leaders who understand that. It’s a subtle way to paint some of his opponents as, well, old. It’s a clever technique, as it conjures up images of Hillary struggling to answer basic technological questions. (“Like with a cloth, or something?”)
Here, Rubio then attempts to tie his framing of old leaders to failed ones, linking President Obama with Hillary Clinton.
Rubio is against a Value Added Tax, or VAT, which is easy to attack as European, and the long-stalled “Internet Sales Tax” being pushed by Sen. Mike Enzi and Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
On tax reform, Rubio wants “to simplify and reduce taxes on both individuals and businesses.” He says his plan is “pro-growth and pro-family” — meaning it will likely keep tax credits for children, popular among social conservatives, less so among tax reform warriors. On corporate taxes, Rubio wants to lower them so the U.S. is “globally competitive” but no mention of reforming the U.S.’s rare worldwide system of taxation on foreign-earned corporate profits.
Much of the speech is Rubio defending the free market system, which he calls:
And pleasing GOP tax godfather Grover Norquist, Rubio all but verbally re-signed the ATR pledge (which he already signed):
You can watch the whole thing below:
