Rubio’s Plan For The Economy Is The Opposite Of What Our Country Needs
Our economy is not working for most Americans. While conservatives truly believe the economy grows from the top down, a strong middle class is the real engine of the economy. There are several key issues impacting communities and families today, including stagnant wages, access to affordable health care, a broken immigration system that Congress has refused to solve, and the devastating impacts of climate change.
Republican candidates have said they want to focus on addressing these issues, specifically the economy, including 2016 hopeful Marco Rubio. While outlining his economic platform, Rubio spoke about how the American dream is “increasingly difficult to achieve for far too many” in part due to how “everyday costs have risen.” In fact, like we have seen from many conservatives lately, the rhetoric rarely matches the reality when it comes to policies that help working families.
Marco Rubio is expected to officially launch a bid for the White House Monday. With that event in mind, here are key facts to keep in mind:
Senator Marco Rubio’s tax plan heavily benefits the wealthiest 1% – eliminating the estate tax, capital gains, and dividends – while hurting America’s working middle-class. Meanwhile, even conservatives admit the plan is irresponsible – costing the nation over $4 trillion in the next 10 years.
- Even the conservative Tax Foundation found that Rubio’s tax plan heavily benefits the wealthy by eliminating the estate tax and taxes on interest, capital gains and dividends.
- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities looked at Rubio’s tax plan and concluded that the big losers under his plan would be the working poor.
Rubio is one of the GOP’s “leading Hispanic voices” yet he has flip-flopped on a key issue to the Hispanic community – comprehensive immigration reform.
- Rubio initially put his weight behind a Senate bill that included a pathway to citizenship but then abandoned those efforts after being heavily criticized by the right.
- Rubio now urges the Senate to prioritize border security and has even said Congress should try to stop the president’s executive action focusing enforcement on felons not families.
Rubio learned his flip-flopping ways on the issues of climate change, once calling it an opportunity for the Florida to grow economically by leading developing solutions.
- In 2007, Rubio thought solving climate change was an economic opportunity and even voted for a bill that would have curbed climate pollution.
- But in 2010, Rubio said “I don’t think there’s the scientific evidence to justify [climate change].”
Meanwhile, Floridians live with the risks of climate change every day.
Before the Affordable Care Act, Florida had the second highest uninsured rate in the nation. Now, over 1.6 million Floridians have enrolled – the largest percentage of any federal exchange – yet Marco Rubio supports repeal.
BOTTOM LINE: Rubio says that he wants to help more people achieve the American dream. But his record suggests the opposite: he wants to restructure the economy–by cutting taxes for the wealthiest, breaking American families apart, continuing carbon pollution and taking health insurance away from millions of people–to take away the dreams of too many hard-working Americans.
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