In a pitch to Louisiana voters, President Joe Biden touted tax hikes on corporations and wealthy people, measures he said were necessary to pay for his sweeping infrastructure package.
“I’m not a deficit spender,” Biden said in Lake Charles, standing before a 70-year-old bridge that former President Donald Trump had promised to rebuild two years ago were he to win a second term. It was Biden’s latest stop on a nationwide tour to build support for his nearly $2.3 trillion “American Jobs Plan,” where he was joined by Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter, a Republican.
BIDEN LEANS INTO TAX HIKES FOR CORPORATIONS AND THE WEALTHY IN LATEST SPENDING PITCH
But Biden’s bridges and roads proposal, which he is pushing alongside his $1.8 trillion “American Families Plan,” faces steep odds in the evenly divided Senate over its scope and cost. Biden said the spending was past needed, adding that “economists left, right, and center agree” they would drive “historic” economic growth.
To pay for the plan, the White House has proposed raising taxes on corporations and a sliver of top wage earners, amounting to a rollback of much of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Among those pushing back on this are Republicans and business groups who say the move would stunt the economy.
Biden has said he is open to negotiating over the scope of his tax increases but won’t budge on the revenues.
“We can pay for these things. I’m not talking about deficit spending,” Biden said. “What I’m proposing is badly needed and able to be paid for and still grow — trickle-down ain’t working very well.”
Through the bill, Biden pledged to repair Louisiana’s water and storm systems, which have been badly battered by hurricanes. According to the White House, the Gulf Coast state earned a “D+” grade on its Infrastructure Report Card.
“We can’t afford to not do it,” Biden said of the plan.
White House officials believe pitching the measures directly to the public and earning its support may pressure lawmakers to negotiate in Congress.
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“Mr. President, any members of Congress out there who might be listening: Lake Charles needs help right now, and we’re asking for it,” Hunter said, introducing Biden. “Washington is failing,” he added.
