President Joe Biden’s camp is examining strategies to make up for lost ground in the upcoming presidential election, and raising taxes on the wealthy to bolster Social Security is on the table.
According to a recent party nominee satisfaction poll by ABC News and IPSOS, Donald Trump leads at 72 percent among leaned Republicans, with Biden trailing 57 percent among leaned Democrats.
According to the latest Harvard-Harris poll, Trump holds a 53 to 47 lead over Biden in general election polling.
With Trump emerging as the most likely GOP frontrunner, the current President’s aides have floated the idea of imposing new taxes on the wealthy to help further fund Social Security benefits, sources tell the Washington Post.
As the former President has vowed once again to protect Social Security if elected, some Biden advisors believe this move could help define the contrast between economic policy on either side of the aisle.
It would require Biden to expand his proposed tax increases, although they would not affect people earning under $400,000 per year, people familiar with the matter told the publication.
President Joe Biden’s camp is looking at strategies to reinforce its populist stance as Donald Trump emerges as the most likely GOP frontrunner
According to the latest Harvard-Harris poll, Trump holds a 53 to 47 lead over Biden in general election polling
The Biden administration has floated the idea of raising taxes on the wealthy to help fund Social Security, in a move to represent the middle class
Around half of likely voters said Biden’s policies would make them worse off financially, while the same share said Trump’s policies would make them better off, in a CBS News/YouGov poll conducted January 10-12.
Still, the President’s camp argues he is working for the average American, drawing a contrast to Trump’s policies, which have historically been lax on corporations and the wealthy.
‘President Biden is fighting to keep building an economy centered on the middle class – not rich special interests,’ White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement.
‘American families deserve more historic progress lowering drug costs, a fairer tax code that rewards work instead of wealth, and the elimination of junk fees that cheat them.’
Some Biden aides see the efforts to cap some prescription drugs as perhaps their most powerful political message, supported by a majority of voters who demand aggressive action against pharmaceutical companies.
Biden officials have tossed around ideas about ways to cap prices in the private market, extending the same benefit to those not covered by Medicare.
Opponents on either side of the aisle continue to clash over tax policy, with Biden reaffirming his dedication to the middle class.
The President approved a new 15 percent minimum tax on corporate profits as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, leaving room for him to tout his proposal to tax billionaires as a goal for a possible next term.
Opponents on either side of the aisle continue to clash over tax policy. Under the Trump administration, corporations received a hefty tax cut
Other pitches by the president’s team include capping some prescription drugs – a move that has proven popular with voters – and eliminating surprise ‘junk fees’
Despite billing his administration’s tax cuts as a ‘middle-class miracle,’ Trump’s tax policies appeared to work against them.
In 2018, the richest 400 families in the US paid an average effective tax rate of 23 percent while the bottom half of American households paid a rate of 24.2 percent, University of California at Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman concluded.
On December 22, 2017, Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, featuring a large cut in the corporate tax rate.
In another move to undermine powerful corporations, the Biden camp is likely to focus on corporate price-gouging and hidden ‘junk fees,’ or surprise fees that companies tack onto bills.
On Wednesday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a plan to cap overdraft fees, following moves to create price transparency at entertainment giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster and crack down on hidden airline fees.
But the courts have hindered some of the administration’s progress, and corporate profit margins remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Biden and Trump remain close in a favorability poll conducted by ABC News and IPSOS. Americans find Biden 33 percent favorable, two points behind Trump’s 35 percent favorable Trump.
Biden’s advisers say the president’s campaign message will become clearer following the State of the Union address and White House budget proposal in March.