Today, Marco Rubio unveiled his economic “plan” in Detroit—a package that includes tax cuts for the rich that would make George W. Bush blush.
It’s ironic that Rubio picked the Motor City to launch his economic vision, considering he opposed the auto bailout. That’s not the only bad economic decision Rubio’s made over the years – he previously supported proposals to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and signed Grover Norquist’s infamous Americans for Tax Reform pledge.
Rubio’s opposition to the auto bailout and support for making the Bush tax cuts permanent reflect his economic priorities. Rubio wants to continue to deal the same, tired hand of failed economic ideas. The American people deserve better. As Hillary Clinton puts it, it’s time to reshuffle the deck.
RUBIO OPPOSED THE AUTO BAILOUT:
2015: Rubio said the auto bailout was not handled the “right way” and that the government’s approach was “problematic.” According to The Detroit News, “Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio said Friday that the $85 billion auto bailout was not the ‘right way’ to handle the troubled sector in 2008 and 2009. At an appearance in Manchester, New Hampshire, the Florida senator said the rescue of General Motors Co. and then Chrysler Group LLC was not the right position for the federal government to take. ‘I don’t think that was the right way to handle it, but certainly our auto industry is important. Again, it was a problematic approach that the federal government took to doing it. But at the end of the day our industry has to be globally competitive. One of the things that makes them globally competitive … is having a workforce that can do the work and also having tax policies, regulatory policies that ensures that America continues to be a place where all industries thrive including the auto industry.” [Detroit News, 4/17/15; Video]
2009: Rubio Opposed Auto Bailout. “Rubio was critical of the recent automaker bailouts, saying, ‘The jobs will be gone and we’ll still owe the money. Washington should just get out of the way.” [American Spectator, 5/19/09]
RUBIO’S PAST TAX POLICY:
Rubio supported making the Bush tax cuts permanent. “We should make permanent the tax relief first passed in 2001 and 2003 immediately and prevent the largest tax increase in American history from taking effect.” [Daily Caller – Marco Rubio, 4/16/12]
MSNBC: On economic policy, “Rubio is moving closer to reviving George W. Bush’s agenda than anyone else in the GOP field.” “Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has been pressed since day one of his proto-campaign to explain how he’d be a different president than his brother or father. But the press may be interrogating the wrong GOP presidential hopeful – when it comes to economic policy, Sen. Marco Rubio is moving closer to reviving George W. Bush’s agenda than anyone else in the field.” [MSNBC, 3/4/15]
Bloomberg: Even the proponents of the Rubio tax plan conceded that it would reduce revenue by $1.7 trillion – which would “largely favor the top 1 percent of Americans over the middle class.” “Senator Marco Rubio of Florida kicked off the competition with his plan to boost economic growth by slashing taxes on investments, wages and business income. Even the plan’s proponents concede it would reduce tax collections by at least $1.7 trillion in the first decade, largely favoring the top 1 percent of Americans over the middle class.” [Bloomberg, 3/12/15]
Marco Rubio signed the infamous Americans for Tax Reform pledge. “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has signed a pledge opposing all tax increases as he jockeys for the White House, the third presidential candidate to make the oath to the popular conservative group Americans for Tax Reform. ‘Senator Rubio is a longtime leader in the taxpayer movement. He signed and kept the Pledge as a Florida state House representative and as a United States Senator. By signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge to the American people, Senator Rubio continues to protect American taxpayers against higher taxes,’ Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said in a statement.” [The Hill, 4/28/15]