Biden: Trickle-down economics "has never worked"
29 April 2021
During his joint address to Congress on Wednesday, President Biden spoke of the need to tax the ultra-wealthy to fix economic inequality in the U.S.
Why it matters: Biden wants to use tax hikes on the rich to pay for his American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan. This philosophy has been a sticking point for many Republicans.
The big picture: Biden noted that tax cuts during the Trump administration were a boon to corporations and wealthy Americans and the pandemic has only increased economic inequality in the U.S.
- Biden's plans, he argued, would invest in the "human infrastructure" that allows for the growth of the middle class and raising people out of poverty.
What he's saying: "I will not add to the tax burden of the middle class of this country. They’re already paying enough."
- "What I’ve proposed is fair. It’s fiscally responsible."
- "My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked," Biden said.
- "It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up and middle-out."
"A broad consensus of economists – left, right, center – agree that what I’m proposing will help create millions of jobs and generate historic economic growth."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.