>> Looks like Senate Democrats have
already settled on only increasing
the corporate tax rate from 21% to
25%.
The Biden administration has
proposed increasing the corporate
tax rate to 28%
even though it was 35% before
Trump cut taxes on corporations and
the wealthy now we're learning
through reporting by Axios.
The Democrats who've privately
hinted, they may be uncomfortable
with going to 28%.
And that includes senators,
Tim Kaine, Mark Warner of Virginia,
Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and
John Tester of Montana.
So we're talking about conservative
democrats here who have been bought
off by the very corporations, who
have a vested interest in keeping
their corporate tax rate low.
Increasing the rate from 21% to
25%, which is what they're
proposing here would raise about
$600 billion over 15 years.
It would leave President Joe Biden
well short of paying for
his proposed $2.25 trillion
eight-year infrastructure package.
And before I go to you, Cenk,
I think it's important to take
a look at how Senator Chris Coons,
a conservative
Democrat is messaging on this bill,
because it's not just about
keeping the corporate tax rate low.
We now see a growing number of
corporate democrats calling for
essentially cutting more of
the popular provisions
in Biden's infrastructure plan.
Take a look at what he had to say.
>> Question I have for you
Senator Coons is what's in it for
Republicans to agree to a plan in
which democrats can act bipartisan
to pass part of the bill, but then
they ran the rest of it throw on
a party line reconciliation vote?
>> Well, Chris, the broader
question you're really asking is
what's in it for our country and
what's in it for the people
we represent from our states.
If Republicans and Democrats work
together to solve problems,
I think that if we come together in
a bipartisan way to pass that $800
billion hard infrastructure bill.
That you were talking
about that I've been urging,
then we show our people that we can
solve their problems.
We've all agreed for
a long time that we need to invest
more in American infrastructure.
We just disagree about how to pay
for it.
>> So Coons is essentially
repeating what you hear from a lot
of Republicans on Fox News.
This bill,
it just has too much in it.
We need to focus on infrastructure
And Koons seems to be
in agreement with them.
And obviously, this is in an effort
to keep the costs down in order to
prevent any tax hikes
on the wealthy and on corporations.
That's what this is.
>> Okay, guys, this is an epic
disaster and how progressive's
react to this will be.
Well, it'll be everything.
So let me explain.
So Trump cut
the corporate taxes from 35% to 21.
So Biden said, we're going to move
it back up to 28.
That's not back up.
That's halfway to 35%.
So already Biden was,
I think literally terrible on
the issue, okay?
20% is not back up to 35%.
So he's It's basically Biden
saying, yeah,
I want to give a giant tax cut to
the wealthiest corporations in
America by not undoing Trumps.
Now, he then has
signaled a willingness to concede
on even the 28%.
And now all the senators
in Washington,
they all probably talk about 25%.
So it's gone, 10% for 35 and 25.
That is shy, Canton gigantic.
That is the democrats doing what
they always do.
You take the republicans gifts to
the rich and the corporation's and
then you shave a little off the top
and then make them permanent.
That's the same thing Obama and
Biden did with the tax cuts for
the rich that bush passed, but
couldn't make permanent.
So no,
this is total good cop bad cop.
I want no part of it.
Second of all the infrastructure
bill Coons.
Now Coons is really important.
One, he's one of the most
conservative Democrats, right?
But two, he's from Delaware and
one of Biden's top allies.
He was almost going to
go into administration.
One of his top advisors in his
campaign was one of the top
surrogates, okay?
Why do I tell you that?
Because Coons is Biden.
>> Yes, exactly.
>> So Biden is sending crews out to
say, go ahead and tell everybody
we're going to cut the living crap
out of my infrastructure bill.
>> Yep. >> So because he never
meant it, he never meant it.
So this is the proof in
the pudding.
If the progressives in Congress
still can't muster up how to oppose
them for there, you hopeless.
All right, so
now let me give you more details.
Coons says, well,
maybe we do instead of 2.2 trillion
which is Biden's roposal,
maybe we do 800 billion.
That said, this bill is gone.
This bill is gone, then Collins
comes in Susan Collins republican,
but part of the group of 20.
So well, bipartisan Republicans,
Democrats, you know what that is?
That's a corporate group.
Those that corporate 20 will
control every piece of legislation
and Biden will secretly cheerlead
for it, okay?
So they're saying and you know
why they're saying 800 million is
specifically Coons saying.
So that when Biden settles on
around 1.1 trillion,
they'll say what do you mean?
We have to Republicans up from 800
million, but
it wasn't the Republicans.
It was Coons who's Biden's guy.
So Biden is undercutting himself,
so he can brag about getting only
half of his number.
Now, back to Susan Collins.
I brought her up because she says,
well, we should only keep the parts
that are about infrastructure.
In other words,
anything relating to green new deal
we're going to kill.
Now if they kill the parts that
are about the green new deal,
they cut it to half.
They make tax cuts for
corporations permanent at a deep,
deep level and they don't include
$15 minimum wage which is the trip
the track that we're on right now.
That's the track we're on
right now if they do all that,
that is a miserable bill.
And then of course,
all of Washington media and
all the Washington Democrats and
older fanboys and
girls would come in and go, Cenk,
that's the best we could do.
There was nothing you could do.
There's nothing I can do as
opposed to we could do.
That's why we screwed everybody.
Now you need to cheerlead for
the Democrats and
my answer to that.
All of yours answers to that should
be hell no, okay?
So let's see what you got Biden,
but I carried to you right now.
The boy, these,
we are voices in the wilderness.
All of us progressives.
I mean, Bernie barely fights for
us at this point.
So you think we're going to win on
this stuff?
No, we're going to get slaughtered
on this stuff, but the progressives
better not sit back.
I don't know, is there anything we
can do politically?
because then you're no different
than Chuck Schumer,
Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden.
You and then we're in a lot
of trouble.
>> I mean, what happened to no
excuses they have.
They have the slim majority in
Congress.
I get it, there's a legislative
filibuster in the Senate.
But we're talking we're not talking
about unpopular provisions in
this infrastructure bill.
We're not only talking about
the environmental components of it.
But remember,
there's also a component that
provides income for individuals who
have to essentially stay home from
work in order to provide eldercare.
There are parts of this provision
that are popular all around.
And if democrats are willing
to fold this easily on
the infrastructure bill, I mean,
what happened to making the child
tax credits permanent, right?
That's not even included in
the infrastructure bill that's
supposedly going to happen in
a subsequent proposal from
the Biden administration.
>> Sure. >> And really,
they're going to use all their
political capital on getting this
infrastructure bill passed.
And if they're this week on
the infrastructure bill,
I think it would be incredibly
naive to think that they're
going to fight in order to keep
those Child Tax Credits permanent.
>> No, look,
I'm done trying to get progressive
legislators to listen to reason.
So we have to somehow burst their
bubble and the bubble is washington
DC everyone in their solimo.
Don't fight next bill.
So as 100%, right,
there is no next bill.
>> There is no next bill.
>> There's HR one,
there's the infrastructure bill.
There is nothing else that you
think they're going to go back to
a $15 minimum wage and
fight for that.
They're not going to do that.
Honestly, if you're a progressive
in Congress and you believe that,
they're playing you for a fool.
Ask them,
give them a concrete example and
date of when they're going to
release a bill that has $15 minimum
wage in it and fight for it and
how are they going to fight for it?
They won't give you that answer.
Nobody will give you that answer,
because that answer doesn't exist.
They're going to
completely drop it.
They're going to go
back to the daycare thing and
make it permanent.
>> [LAUGH] No, hey, you know what?
So-called progressive and Congress,
I'm just directing this to them.
Name a number,
I bet you any amount of money.
You think Biden and Pelosi and
Schumer are going to help you pass
$15 minimum wage and then you're
going to go make that daycare thing
permanent instead of one year?
Name a number, name any number.
You don't even know you're getting
played.
[LAUGH] Let alone the fact that
you're going to somehow rally,
fight back when you've shown no
fight at all.
And derail what is about to screw
us permanently in the corporate tax
rate.
Let alone the fact that they're not
even talking about minimum wage.
You guys, all right,
good luck to you.
because you guys are all geniuses
and you have it all figured out.
Okay, so good luck.