A whispering President Joe Biden dismissed that his tax hikes are “unreasonable” because “crazy liberal dude” Ronald Reagan used the same corporate rate, while claiming that “MAGA Republicans” are endangering the US economy because of the threat of a debt ceiling.
Biden made midmorning remarks in the Roosevelt Room on Friday, praising the February jobs report, while also praising his budget proposal and asking House Republicans to see theirs.
“I’m prepared, I told the speaker, as soon as he’s ready to make his budget, I’m ready to sit down,” Biden said. “And now I hear things like, well, we don’t get our budget until April or May, maybe even June,” the president said, beating the House’s Republican majority.
A Whispering President Joe Biden dismissed that his tax hikes are “unreasonable” because “crazy liberal dude” Ronald Reagan used the same corporate rate, claiming that “MAGA Republicans” are endangering the US economy with debt ceiling threats
Biden also held up an article saying the conservative House Freedom Caucus would not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless he cut non-military spending by 25 percent across the board.
“That means police, firefighters, it means healthcare,” Biden noted.
The president called threats not to raise the debt ceiling “reckless talk” and said making those statements jeopardizes economic recovery.
“So I urge our extreme MAGA Republican friends in Congress to put aside their threats and join me in continuing the progress we’ve made,” Biden said.
On Thursday, Biden rolled out his budget proposal during a trip to Philadelphia.
The Democratic president wants the corporate tax rate to rise from 21 to 28 percent.
Biden joked that Republican President Ronald Reagan was a “crazy liberal man” as he challenged GOP objections to raising the corporate tax rate
The corporate tax rate for most of Reagan’s tenure was 28 percent.
Additionally, when Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the top tax rate went from 50 percent to 28 percent.
“You know, when we talked about a 28 percent tax rate, Ronald Reagan had a 28 percent tax rate — you know, that ‘crazy liberal guy,'” Biden told reporters in the room, in his signature whisper .
“The idea that that’s an unreasonable amount,” he muttered.
Biden’s budget uses tax hikes on the wealthy to lower the national debt while funding Democratic priorities, including childcare, paid family leave, offshore wind farms and support for refugees.
He also wants to raise federal employee salaries by 5.2 percent.
Republicans have fought back for tax increases, even passing a bill — which fell in the Senate — to deduct funds from the Internal Revenue Service that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act and were intended for new hires, so the IRS could better track could handle taxes. cheaters.
Biden used his whisper voice again when he brought that up.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia (pictured), said they would vote to lift the debt ceiling if Biden cut non-military spending by 25 percent across the board
“You know all those IRS agents we had? They’re going to check the accounts of the super rich, which takes a lot of time, a lot of cops to look at. They want to get rid of them,” the president said of the Republicans.
“I don’t know, we just set a very different value,” he said.
Biden also commented Friday morning on the monthly jobs report.
“I think we have a good jobs report,” he said. “It means our economic plan is working,” he added.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. added 311,000 jobs in February, beating estimates but still fewer jobs than the number added in January.
Dow Jones had estimated that 225,000 people would be hired last month.
The unemployment rate went from 3.4 percent to 3.6 percent, which is still historically low as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic that rocked the economy three years ago this month.
Friday’s government report made it clear that the country’s labor market remains fundamentally sound, with many employers still eager to hire.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told Congress this week that the Fed was likely to step up rate hikes if signs continued to point to a robust economy and continued high inflation.
The US added 311,000 jobs in February, again beating estimates but still fewer jobs than in January
A strong labor market typically leads companies to raise wages and then pass on their higher labor costs to customers through higher prices.
Last month, the government reported a surprise burst of hirings for January — 517,000 additional jobs — though that gain was revised slightly to 504,000 in Friday’s report.
Consumers also increased their spending in January, suggesting that the economy had picked up at the start of the year.
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge also accelerated.
With strong job growth in February after the expansive growth in January, the Fed may accelerate rate hikes to fight inflation.
When the Fed tightens lending, it typically leads to higher mortgage rates, auto loans, credit card loans and many business loans.
What the Fed will decide to do about interest rates when it meets later this month remains uncertain. The decision will rest in part on Friday’s assessment of jobs numbers and next week’s February consumer inflation report. Last month, the government report on inflation in January sounded the alarm by demonstrating that consumer prices had accelerated again from month to month.
The strong job growth for January, reported early last month, was the first in a series of reports pointing to an improving economy at the start of the year.
Sell at shops and restaurants also jumped up, and inflation, by the Fed’s preferred measure, rose from December to January at the fastest pace in seven months.
The stronger data reversed a cautiously optimistic narrative that the economy cooled modestly – perhaps enough to curb inflation without triggering a deep recession.
Now the economic outlook is hazier.
High borrowing rates have jagged the housing market, with home sales declined for 12 consecutive months – a consequence of the almost doubling of the average mortgage interest at that time.
Production is also showing signs of weakness. Higher rates have made it more difficult for businesses and consumers to borrow to buy large manufactured goods, from machines to cars to appliances.
In contrast, spending on services such as travel, eating out and attending entertainment events remains strong.
Many Americans continue to engage in activities that were restricted during the COVID lockdowns.
Hiring at the February pace is about triple the Fed’s preferred level.
Job growth of about 100,000 per month would be just enough to keep up with population growth and prevent unemployment from rising.
A low number would also mean that employers are not so desperate to hire workers and not have to continually raise wages.
Of course, a higher salary is great for employees.
But Fed officials say it contributes to higher inflation, especially in labor-intensive service industries such as restaurants, healthcare and hotels.