When President Biden sent his proposed Tax and Budget proposal to Congress on March 11th, he claimed it would end the so-called “trickle down” government economic policies which favor the rich and big corporations. His actual proposals, however, show a huge gap between his rhetoric and the real policy of his administration.
To manage the COVID crisis, the U.S. government greatly expanded social safety net programs, like unemployment insurance, Medicaid and housing subsidies for low-income families. Now, these programs are being cut back.
During the COVID pandemic, the government appropriated enough money to allow 23 million uninsured people to get on Medicaid and CHIPS (CHIPS provides medical care for children not covered by private medical insurance). At its peak, in April of 2023, 94.5 million adults and children were covered by these programs. In 2025, the government will only appropriate enough money to cover 88 million people. It is estimated that the government will kick 15 million people off CHIPS and Medicaid as the money appropriated for these programs during COVID runs out.
Before Trump took office, the top tax rate on corporate profits was 35%. Trump lowered it to 21%. Biden’s budget proposes to raise it to 28%, still leaving it significantly lower than it was during the Obama administration.
During the COVID pandemic, the U.S. government extended unemployment insurance to a full year. It increased weekly payments by $600 over what the different state governments provided. Now, under the Biden budget, unemployment insurance can last as little as 26 weeks, and in 13 states even less. Under Biden’s budget the Federal government will no longer add $600 to what the states pay, which can be as little as $235 a week.
In the last year of the Trump administration, the military got $562 billion. Biden’s budget appropriates $850 billion for the military, an increase of 51%.
Biden’s budget proposes a tax increase on companies which pay their bosses more than one million dollars and to increase the minimum income tax on families which are worth more than $100 million. However, Biden knows these provisions will have no chance of becoming law, as they are opposed by most Republicans and many Democrats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. With the number of millionaires elected to Congress, this is not surprising.
Biden’s empty claims that his budget favors the average family are just an election-year promise meant to be broken. We’re told we have a government of the people, by the people, for the people. In reality, we have a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich.
