Biden Presents His Budget Targeting the Rich: ‘Reflects Our Values as a Nation’

President Joe Biden presented his budget request to Congress for 2024, and targeting wealthy Americans is one of his top priorities.

“We propose a billionaire minimum tax, requiring the wealthiest Americans to pay at least 25 percent on all of their income, including appreciated assets—because no billionaire should ever pay a lower tax rate than a school teacher or a firefighter,” Biden wrote in his proposal.

He continues, “This Budget also proposes quadrupling the tax on corporate stock buybacks, so companies invest more in production to improve quality and lower prices, and less in buybacks that only benefit shareholders and CEOs.”

Biden explained the budget “closes tax loopholes for the wealthy and cracks down on tax cheats, and it once again ensures that no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay a penny more in new taxes, period.”

According to the president, the budget “reflects our values as a Nation—a Nation of good people, growing in a new age of possibilities, and standing as a beacon to the world.”

Concluding his message, Biden wrote, “Together, let us put those values into practice and prove that democracy delivers as we keep building a stronger, fairer 💰Economy that leaves no one behind.”

Additionally, Biden proposed raising the federal capital gains tax rate to 39.6% for households raking in more than $1 million.

Some lawmakers took to Twitter to express their frustration with the budget.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tweeted, “President Biden just delivered his budget to Congress, and it is completely unserious.”

McCarthy continued, “He proposes trillions in new taxes that you and your family will pay directly or through higher costs. Mr. President: Washington has a spending problem, NOT a revenue problem.”

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) wrote, “ bloated budget reveals how out-of-touch he is with families in Wyoming and across the country. Instead of lowering costs, the president is raising taxes so he can fund his reckless, radical spending. This budget is dead on arrival.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) argued the budget is a “roadmap to fiscal ruin. From its delayed rollout to its reckless taxes and out-of-control spending, this budget sends a clear message: Pres Biden doesn’t seem to give a rip abt keeping his promises or securing the fiscal health of our nation.”

The budget comes just a few months after the nation hit the debt ceiling set by Congress.