♪MUCK.
DAGEN: WHOSE JOBS ARE THEY
ANYWAY?
JOE BIDEN TRYING TO TAKE CREDIT
FOR EVERY JOB CREATED IN THE
U.S. CLAIMING HIS MASSIVE $2.25
TRILLION SPENDING --
INFRASTRUCTURE IF YOU WANT TO
CALL IT THAT -- BILL WOULD
CREATE 19 MILLION JOBS.
BUT THAT COMES FROM A MOODY’S
REPORT FOR TOTAL JOB GROWTH.
THAT SPENDING IS EXPECTED TO ADD
2.7 MILLION JOBS OVER THE NEXT
TEN YEARS, SAYS MOODY’S.
BUT IS THAT A STRETCH AS WELL?
LET ME BRING IN THE DIRECTOR OF
THE INDEPENDENT WOMEN’S FORUM
CENTER FOR ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.
PATRICE, GREAT TO SEE YOU.
HOW IS THIS GOING TO HURT
BUSINESSES, HURT SMALLER
BUSINESSES AND ACTUALLY DESTROY
JOBS POTENTIALLY?
>> WELL, LET’S THINK ABOUT WHO,
WHICH INDUSTRIES ARE GOING TO
BENEFIT.
IT’S NOT GOING TO BE EVERY
SINGLE INDUSTRY ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
MAYBE THERE IS, WHAT, 7% OF THE
ACTUAL JOBS BILL IS FOR
TRADITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE, SO
SOME OF THOSE COMPANIES MIGHT
BENEFIT.
BUT, YOU KNOW, HONESTLY, I THINK
WHAT’S REALLY GOING TO HURT,
IT’S GOING TO HURT AND HOW HE’S
GOING TO TO PAY FOR IT.
HE’S PLANNING ON RAISING
CORPORATE TAX RATES FROM 23% TO
2% -- 21% TO 28%.
WHEN YOU ADD IN THE STATE
TAXES,ST COMPANIES ARE GOING TO
BE LESS COMPETITIVE THAN OUR
COMPETITORS NATIONWIDE, RIGHT IN
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHO BEARS
THE BRUNT OF THOSE CORPORATE TAX
INCREASES, IT IS WORKERS.
PARTICULARLY LOW-SKILLED, YOUNG
AND WOMEN.
AND SO I WORRY ABOUT THOSE SMALL
BUSINESSES WHO ARE PROBABLY NOT
GOING TO GET A LOT OF RELIEF OUT
OF THIS, BUT ALSO THE WORKERS
WHO ARE GOING TO LOSE
OPPORTUNITIES DESPITE THE CLAIM
THAT, YOU KNOW, SO MANY JOBS ARE
GOING TO BE CREATED WHICH A LOT
OF THEM ARE GOING TO BE
TEMPORARY ANYWAY.
DAGEN: I’M ASKING YOU TO
SPECULATE, BUT JEFF BEZOS CAME
OUT WITH A STATEMENT EARLIER
THIS AFTERNOON SAYING THAT THEY
SUPPORT THE BOLD INVESTMENTS IN
AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE, AND
THEY’RE SUPPORTIVE OF A RISE IN
THE CORPORATE TAX RATE.
WHAT’S HE UP TO?
BY COMING OUT AND SAYING THAT?
IS HE --
>> WELL, IT’S NOT --
DAGEN: GO AHEAD.
>> DAGEN, I THINK ABOUT
INFRASTRUCTURE FROM AMAZON’S
PERSPECTIVE AND THEIR DELIVERY,
WHAT THEIR DELIVERY BUSINESS IS
ALL ABOUT.
THEY OBVIOUSLY WANT TO SEE
BETTER ROADS AND BRIDGES WHICH
MEANS IT’S PROBABLY LESS WEAR
AND TEAR ON MAYBE SOME OF THE
VANS AND THE DELIVERY SERVICES
THAT THEY THEMSELVES PAY FOR AND
OPERATE.
NOW, WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR OWN
CORPORATE TAXES, I KNOW THEY PAY
STATE TAXES, FEDERAL TAXES ARE
PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT LOWER, BUT
I THINK THERE IS THIS IDEA THAT,
YOU KNOW, THEY’LL BE ABLE TO
MORE THAN ABSORB AN INCREASE IN
CORPORATE TAXES BECAUSE THEY’VE
DONE EXTREMELY WELL PARTICULARLY
COMING OUT OF THE PANDEMIC WHEN
THEY WERE THE GO-TO SOURCE FOR
SO MANY HOUSEHOLDS AND SMALL
BUSINESSES IN THIS COUNTRY.
SO I GET WHERE JEFF BEZOS IS
COMING FROM.
HE HAS MONEY IN HIS WALLET TO
TAKE OUT AND PAY FOR A CORPORATE
TAX INCREASE, BUT THAT’S NOT
FAIR TO A LOT OF OTHER SMALLER
BUSINESSES.
EVEN THOSE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW,
NOT AS GIANT AS AMAZON BUT
THEY’RE STILL BIG ENOUGH,
THEY’RE GOING TO FEEL THAT TAX
INCREASE.
DAGEN: AND WHAT WOULD ALSO HURT
SO MANY BUSINESSES PARTICULARLY
IN CONSERVATIVE STATES IS -- AND
I KNOW THAT YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT
THIS AND WRITTEN ABOUT THIS, BUT
IT’S THE PRO ACT.
IT WOULD ESSENTIALLY GET RID OF
RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
THAT IS A NASTY PART OF, THAT’S
TUCKED INTO THE BIDEN JOBS PLAN.
IT WOULD THE, IN ESSENCE, SAY
THAT IF YOU’RE AN INDEPENDENT
CONTRACTOR, YOU’RE EFFECTIVELY
GOING TO BE RECLASSIFIED AS AN
EMPLOYEE BECAUSE THEY WOULD
APPLY A MUCH MORE STRINGENT
DEFINITION OF WHO AN INDEPENDENT
CONTRACT IS.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TRANSLATORS,
PEOPLE WHO ARE ONE-MAN,
ONE-WOMAN SHOPS WHO ARE JUST
TRYING TO MAKE IT THROUGH THIS
PANDEMIC.
SUDDENLY YOU’RE BECOMING AN
EMPLOYEE OF THESE CLIENTS?
A LOT OF THESE CLIENTS HIRE YOU
AS AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
BECAUSE THEY DON’T HAVE THE
STEADY BUSINESS AND THEY CAN’T
AFFORD THE COSTS.
WE’VE SEEN THIS HAPPEN IN
CALIFORNIA.
THIS IS NATIONALIZING A BAD
JOB-KILLING CALIFORNIA BILL AT
THE FEDERAL LEVEL.
AND, AGAIN, THIS IS GOING TO HIT
SMALL BUSINESSES, IT’S GOING TO
HIT ENTREPRENEURS, IT’S GOING TO
HIT WOMEN IN THE WORK FORCE.