https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/bidens-claim-he-cut-deficit-challenged-falseJoe Biden took aim and the nation's debt and deficit in his State of the Union address on Thursday, but several of his financial claims were false, according to some budget experts, including his claim that he cut the deficit by $1 trillion last term.
"He made several false and misleading statements, but, you know, that's nothing new," said David Walker, the former Comptroller General of the U.S. and an advisory board member for Main Street Economics. "He hasn't done anything meaningful to deal with the deficit and mounting debt burdens."
Biden was correct that the deficit decreased, but wrong about why the deficit decreased. The U.S. deficit declined from $2.8 trillion in fiscal year 2021 to $1.7 trillion in 2023 because emergency COVID-19 spending ended
"This is not because President Biden cut the deficit. If anything, it is in spite of it," according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group focused on financial issues. "Deficits fell from a COVID-relief-driven record high and still remain above pre-pandemic levels."
The group further noted that "the laws and executive actions President Biden has signed have added to the deficit on net, not reduced it."
Walker said Biden's State of the Union was more of a campaign speech than anything else.
Biden did call for more federal revenue in his address. Biden said corporations and the wealthy should pay more to cut the deficit further.
"It's my goal to cut the federal deficit another $3 trillion by making big corporations and the very wealthy finally beginning to pay their fair share," he said.
Biden proposed raising the minimum corporate tax rate from 15% to 21%. Though unspoken in his Thursday night address, Biden also will propose a 33% increase in the overall corporate tax rate, increasing it from 21% to 28%, according to a White House media briefing held earlier Wednesday.
