Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance was brutally fact-checked after making a bonkers claim about which Americans benefited from former President Donald Trump's policies compared to those of his successor, President Joe Biden.
Speaking to Fox News personality Laura Ingraham, Vance made the following declaration:
"There's a simple reason [why Americans benefited more from Trump's policies] ... The Biden administration's policies have benefited billionaires while Trump's policies benefited working people."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Trump's policies have largely benefited society's wealthiest.
According to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a progressive American think tank that analyzes the impact of federal and state government budget policies, the 2017 Trump-era Tax Act was "skewed to the rich," noting that:
"Households with incomes in the top 1 percent will receive an average tax cut of more than $60,000 in 2025, compared to an average tax cut of less than $500 for households in the bottom 60 percent."
The organization said last month that the tax cuts were "expensive and eroded the U.S. revenue base," remarking that at this moment there is "simply not enough revenue given the nation’s investment needs and our commitments to Social Security and health coverage."
According to economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman from the University of California at Berkeley, in their recent publication The Triumph of Injustice, the wealthiest 400 families in the United States paid an average effective tax rate of 23% in 2018. Surprisingly, this rate is slightly lower than the 24.2% paid by the bottom half of American households.
This disparity in tax rates reflects a longstanding trend of declining taxes on the wealthy. In 1960, the top 400 families paid a tax rate as high as 56%, which steadily decreased to 40% by 1980. However, the enactment of Trump's tax cuts marked a significant turning point.
Trump's tax cuts, considered one of his few notable legislative achievements, exacerbated the discrepancy in tax rates. The controversial tax package resulted in a 2.5% tax cut for the top 0.1% of U.S. households, pushing their tax rate below that of the lower 50% of American earners.
Biden has factually done more for the economy and the working class.
One of Biden's earliest economic moves was signing the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package aimed at propelling the country beyond the recession triggered by the pandemic.
The result of these efforts has been a remarkable resurgence of the economy, with the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) surging by approximately 6%, a level unseen since the 1980s. This growth has been accompanied by a significant drop in unemployment rates and a surge in the creation of new small businesses.
In addition to stimulus measures, Biden has taken significant pro-union actions, such as appointing labor allies to key positions within the National Labor Relations Board and the Labor Department. He has also incentivized unionized labor through infrastructure grants and other federal funding initiatives. Furthermore, Biden has publicly supported efforts to unionize workplaces, including those of major corporations like Starbucks and Amazon.
Given these facts, many were quick to criticize and correct Vance.
Vance also addressed recent speculation about his potential role as Trump's running mate in the upcoming presidential election.
Despite widespread rumors suggesting his candidacy for the position, Vance clarified that he has not personally discussed the matter with Trump. He told Ingraham that he has "never actually spoken to the president about VP speculation," adding that it would be "a great honor" if Trump ever gives him the opportunity.
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