Rubio Stands By Criticism of Corporate Tax Cuts...Chides Politico for Suggesting Otherwise

Cortney O'Brien | May 03, 2018 11:00 AM

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) surprised Republicans by offering some subtle criticism of the GOP tax reform bill in a recent interview with The Economist.

“There is still a lot of thinking on the right that if big corporations are happy, they’re going to take the money they’re saving and reinvest it in American workers,” he says. “In fact they bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there’s no evidence whatsoever that the money’s been massively poured back into the American worker.” (The Economist)

Rubio had wanted to double the child tax credit to $2,000 per child and pay for it by making a small increase to the corporate rate. A "watered down version" (The Economist's words) is what made the final cut. Yet, in a new op-ed for National Review, Rubio noted that the positive benefits of the bill outweigh the bad.

“Overall, the Republican tax cut bill has been good for Americans," Rubio wrote. "That is why I voted for it. But it could have been even better for American workers and their families.”

Politico interpreted that to mean Rubio had changed his mind on his initial criticism. They were so sure of their interpretation that they published a piece entitled, "Rubio walks back criticism of GOP tax law."

The senator quickly corrected the editors, insisting he stands by his critique.

Although written by intern at Politico, this article is a reminder of how difficult it can be to discuss public policy in political press. Not only did I not back down on tax cut, I doubled down & added detail for rationale https://t.co/4NTDOxcEju
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) May 2, 2018