Visits: 8
Transcript for Harris and Pence address US economy, jobs
Harris — You know, that’s a good segue into our third topic, which is about the economy. This has been another aspect of life for Americans, it’s been so affected by this coronavirus. We have a jobs crisis brewing. On Friday, we learned that the unemployment rate had declined to 7.9% in September, but the job growth had stalled and that was before the latest round of layoffs and fur Lopes in the airline industry, Disney and elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands of discouraged workers have stopped looking for work. Nearly 11 million jobs that existed at the beginning of the year haven’t been replaced. Those hardest hit include Latinos, blacks and women. Senator Harris, the biden/harris campaign has proposed new programs to boost the economy and you would pay for that new spending by raising $4 trillion in taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations. Some economists warn that could curb entrepreneur ventures that create jobs. Would raising taxes put the recovery at risk? And you have two minutes to answer, uninterrupted. Thank you. On the issue of the economy, I think there couldn’t be a more fundamental difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Joe Biden believes you measure the health and the strength of America’s economy based on the health and the strength of the American worker and the American family. On the other hand, you have Donald Trump who measures the strength of the economy based on how rich people are doing. Which is why he passed a tax bill benefits the top 1% and the biggest corporations of America, leading to a $2 trillion deficit that the American people are going to have to pay for. On day one, Joe Biden will repeal that tax bill. He’ll get rid of it. And he’ll do with the money is invest it in the American and through a plan that is about investing in infrastructure, something that Donald Trump said he would do, I remember hearing about infrastructure week, I don’t think it ever happened, but Joe Biden will do that. He will invest in infrastructure, upgrading our roads and bridges and investing in clean energy and renewable energy. Joe is going to invest that money in what we need to do around innovation. There was a time when our country believed in science and invested in research and development, so that we were an innovation leader on the globe. Joe Biden will use that money to invest in education. So, for example, for folks who want to go to a two-year community college, it will be free if you come from a family that makes less than $125,000. You’ll go to a public university for free. And across the board, we’ll make sure that if you have student loan debt, it’s cut by $10,000. That’s how Joe Biden thinks about the economy, which it’s about investing in the people of our country, as opposed to passing a tax bill which had the benefit of letting American corporations go offshore to do their business. Thank you, senator Harris. Vice president pence, your administration has been predicting a rapid and robust recovery. But the latest economic report suggests that’s not happening. Should Americans be braced for an economic comeback that is going to take not months, but a year or more? You have two minutes to answer, uninterrupted. When president trump and I took office, America had gone through the slowest economic recovery since the great depression. When Joe Biden was vice president, they tried to tax and spend and regulate and bail our way back to a growing economy. President trump cut taxes across the board. Despite what senator Harris says, the average American family of four had $2,000 in savings in taxes. And with the rise in wages that occurred, most predominantly for blue collar, hard-working Americans, the average household income for a family of four increased by $4,000, following president trump’s tax cuts. But America, you just heard senator Harris tell you, on day one, Joe Biden’s going to raise your taxes. It’s really remarkable to think. That’s not what I said. Right after, a time when we’re going through a pandemic that lost 22 million jobs at the height, we’ve already added back 11.6 million jobs, because we had a president that rolled back regulation, unleashed American energy, fought for free and fair trade and secured $4 trillion from the congress of the united States to give direct payments to families. Saved 50 million jobs through the paycheck protection program. We literally have spared no expense to help the American people and the American worker through this. Joe Biden and kamala Harris want to raise taxes, they want to bury our economy under a $2 trillion green new deal, which you were one of the original cosponsors of in the united States senate. They want to abolish fossil fuels and ban fracking, which would cost hundreds of thousands of American jobs all across the heartland. And Joe Biden wants to go back to the economic surrender to China that when we took office, half of our international trade deficit was with China alone and Joe Biden wants to repeal all of the tariffs that president trump put into effect to fight for American jobs and American workers. Joe Biden says democracy is on the ballot — make no mistake about it, Susan, the American economy, the American comeback is on the ballot with four more years of growth — Thank you, vice president. Four more years of president Donald Trump, 2021 — Thank you, vice president pence. Senator Harris? Well, I mean, we saw enough of it in last week’s debate, but I think this is supposed to be a debate based on fact and truth. And the truth and the fact is, Joe Biden has been very clear, he will not raise taxes on anybody that makes less than 400,000 — He’s going to repeal the trump tax cuts. Mr. Vice president, I’m speaking. You said the truth. Joe Biden said it twice in the debate last week that he’s going to repeal the trump tax cuts. That was tax cuts that gave the average working family $2,000 in a tax break every single year. Senator — That is absolutely not true. That tax bill — Is he only going to repeat — If you don’t mind letting me finish, we can then have a conversation, okay? Please. Okay. Joe Biden will not raise taxes on anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year. He’s been clear about that. Joe Biden will not end fracking, he’s been clear about that. Joe Biden is the one who, during the great recession, was responsible for the recovery act that brought America back and now the trump/pence administration wants to credit, when they rode the coat tails of Joe Biden’s success. Of course now the economy is a complete disaster, but Joe Biden on the one hand, did that. On the other hand, you have Donald Trump who has reigned over a recession that is being compared to the great depression. On the one hand, you have Joe Biden, who was responsible with president Barack Obama for the affordable care act, which brought health care to over 20 million Americans and protected people with pre-existing conditions and what it also did is it saved those families who otherwise were going to bankrupt because of hospital bills they could not afford. On the other hand, you have Donald Trump, who is in court right now, trying to get rid of the affordable care act, which means that you will lose protections if you have pre-existing conditions and I just — this is very important, Susan — We need to give vice president — He interrupted me and I would like to just finish, please. If you have a pre-existing condition, heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer, they’re coming for you. If you love someone who has a pre-existing condition, they’re coming for you. If you have under the age of 26 on your parents coverage, they’re coming for you. Senator Harris, thank you. You’re welcome. Let me give you a chance to respond. I hope we have a chance to talk about health care, because Obamacare was a disaster, the American people remember it well. President trump and I have a plan to improve health care and to protect pre-existing conditions for every American. But look, senator Harris, you are entitled to your own opinion, but you’re not entitled to your own facts. You said on multiple occasions when you were running for president that you would ban fracking. Joe Biden looked a supporter in the eye and pointed and said, I guarantee — I guarantee that we will abolish fossil fuels. They have a $2 trillion version of the green new deal that Susan, your newspaper, said really wasn’t that very different from the original green new deal. More taxes, more regulation, banning fracking, abolishing fossil fuel, crushing American energy and economic surender to China is a prescription for economic decline. President trump and I will keep America growing. The v-shaped recovery that’s under way right now will continue with four more years of president Donald Trump. Thank you very much, vice president pence.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
