Joe Biden is not officially a candidate for his own succession, but his last speech, delivered Thursday at union offices in Philadelphia, tends to show that he is thinking about it. The tenant of the White House, 80, has indeed directly addressed the American middle class, which could turn to Donald Trump.
Funding a health insurance plan benefiting Americans over 65
Already set up within the framework of the great plan climate and against inflation (IRA), the budget plans to perpetuate the mechanism of tax credit making it possible to reduce on average annual of 800 dollars the expenses of health insurance of the Americans. It also provides for the establishment of a system close to the ” Obamacare for residents of states that have not yet adopted it.
Another measure planned, the reinforcement of Medicare, the health insurance plan benefiting Americans over 65, by ensuring its financing ” for at least 25 years without reducing the benefits for beneficiaries.
Finally, the Biden administration wants to continue the effort to reduce the cost of prescribing drugs through various measures, in particular: allowing states to negotiate drug prices together, giving more space to generics for chronic diseases or even capping the price of insulin.
The president also played on the security chord to try to seduce the Republican electorate: “ my budget calls for solid investments in our military and our defence. Let’s see what the MAGA Republicans offer “, name given to those deemed close to Donald Trump.
A minimum tax of 25% for billionaires, the richest 0.01% of Americans
To finance these measures, the American president wants to raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, against 21% today, and 35% before Donald Trump lowers it in 2017. Another additional source of income envisaged by the Democrat, the introduction of a minimum tax of 25% for billionaires, or the richest 0.01% of Americans.
Taxation on capital income is also reinforced, with a quadrupling of the tax applied to share buybacks. Finally, the income tax bracket at 40% above 400,000 dollars annually, abolished by Donald Trump, is restored.
Another presidential will: a reduction of 3,000 billion dollars over 10 years in the federal deficit. Among the measures envisaged, the budget plans to cut so-called “ useless », in particular those in favor of the pharmaceutical and petroleum industries. On the fossil fuel side, this will involve phasing out federal subsidies for gas and oil as well as sector-specific tax rates.
THE ” riches »regularly targeted by Joe Biden
« We must ask the richest and the biggest corporations to start paying their fair share “, he hammered. He had already been able to say it in April 2021 before Congress: It’s time for corporate America and the richest 1% of Americans to start paying their fair share “. In October 2021 bis repetita, the Democratic administration was aiming individuals with more than $1 billion in assets or more than $100 million in three-year income with the idea of creating a new tax on latent capital gains.
More recently, last February, Joe Biden attacked the oil companies who announced one after the other at the start of the year of superprofits: “ the only thing stopping big oil companies from increasing production is their decision to pay billions to shareholders instead of reinvesting profits “. And to add: I’m doing my part to lower prices, it’s time for Big Oil to do its part. »
Measures that have little or no chance of passing the barrier of Congress
The strongest measures of his project, however, have almost no chance of passing the barrier of Congress, because, since the beginning of the year, the Democrats only control the Senate, the other chamber, that of the representatives. , now being dominated by the Republicans. Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy called the budget ” reckless proposal that replicates the same far-left spending policies that have led to record inflation and our current debt crisis “. Republicans are determined not to let any tax increase pass. ” If the MAGA Republicans in Congress try to repeal the law (…), I won’t let them. “, promised the president.
The weight of the debt becomes a burden for Joe Biden
This budget presentation comes against the backdrop of a tussle over another financial subject, far more urgent: the raising the debt ceiling “. The United States, the only industrialized power in this case, must regularly increase, via a vote in Congress, the government’s debt capacity. However, this vote, which has long been a formality, is increasingly politicized.
Kevin McCarthy assures his troops will not vote to raise the debt ceiling until Joe Biden curbs public spending. The president, for his part, has so far refused to negotiate, arguing that the debt accumulated over the years by the country is a shared responsibility. ” It took 200 years to accumulate this debt. (…) And by the way, President Trump, when he was president, increased the national debt by 25%, in just four years “, underlined Joe Biden, who claims to be able to reduce the deficit by nearly 3,000 billion over 10 years. The stakes are not small: if the showdown goes on too long, the United States would be under the threat of a default in payment, unheard of, from July.
(With AFP)