President Joe Biden delivered his third State of the Union address Thursday, touting his economic record and making the case for a second term. In an hour-long address, Biden highlighted his “Bidenomics” policies, reminding Americans about the country’s path out of the pandemic.
“I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now it’s an economy that is the envy of the world,” he said, citing a historically low unemployment rate, resilient labor market, and cooling inflation.
Biden unveiled a slew of new economic measures, including key tax policies under a second term. He called for raising the corporate tax rate to 28%, increasing the corporate minimum tax from 15 to 21%, and he unveiled a plan to cap executive compensation by reducing tax deductions for firms that pay an employee more than $1 million.
The President called it an issue of “fundamental fairness.”
“If you want to make a million bucks – great! Just pay your fair share in taxes,” Biden said. “A fair tax code is how we invest in the things that make a country great.”
Biden also unveiled new tax credits to offset high mortgage rates for first time home buyers in the form of a $5000 annual tax credit for two years. He vowed additional measures to lower costs including capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month.
The widely watched speech comes as the latest polls show the President trailing Former President Donald Trump in key swing states, in a head to head race.
Video Transcript
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AKIKO FUJITA: President Joe Biden delivered his third State of the Union address Thursday touting his economic record and making the case for a second term. Biden saying the country under his watch turned setback into comeback. And he declared the US economy’s landing is and will be soft.
JOE BIDEN: I inherited economy is on the brink. Now, our economy is literally the envy of the world. 15 million new jobs in just three years. A record. A record.
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Unemployment, a 50-year low. Record 16 million Americans are starting small businesses. And each one is a little act of hope.
AKIKO FUJITA: The president hinted at a long list of economic policies under a second Biden term. He called for raising the corporate tax rate to 28% increasing the corporate minimum tax from 15% to 21%. And he unveiled a plan to cap executive compensation by reducing tax deductions for firms that pay employees more than $1 million. The president saying it’s an issue of fundamental fairness for all Americans.
JOE BIDEN: I’m a capitalist. Do you want to make and can make a million or millions of bucks, that’s great. Just pay your fair share in taxes.
[APPLAUSE]
A fair tax code is how we invest things to make this country great health care education defense and so much more.
AKIKO FUJITA: Biden also unveiled new tax credits to offset high mortgage rates for first time homebuyers by giving buyers a $5,000 credit per year for two years on drug pricing. He promised additional measures to lower costs, including capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month.
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