Updated: 5:40 p.m., Thursday, May 27, 2021
In Cleveland, President Joe Biden on Thursday argued for increased spending on infrastructure, research and education to lift the U.S. economy as the country recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
Standing before a row of milling machines at a Cuyahoga Community College manufacturing center, the president said the United States needs a strong economy to be a global leader.
鈥淣ow鈥檚 the time to build on the foundation that we鈥檝e laid, to make bold investments in our families and our communities and our nation,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淲e know from history that these kinds of investments raise both the floor and the ceiling of the economy for everybody.鈥�
Biden pledged action to deal with supply bottlenecks and rising materials prices that could impede that recovery. He also mentioned the service-sector employers who have been offering higher pay and benefits as they try to fill open positions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e already seeing what happens when employers have to compete for workers,鈥� he said. 鈥淐ompanies like McDonald鈥檚, Home Depot, Bank of America and others, what do they have to do? They have to raise wages to attract workers. That鈥檚 the way it鈥檚 supposed to be.鈥�
At one point in his speech, Biden held up a card listing Congressional Republicans he said had publicly hailed the federal aid coming their districts despite voting against it.
鈥淪ome people have no shame,鈥� the president said, laughing. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 happy. I鈥檓 happy they know that it benefited their constituents. That鈥檚 okay with me. But if you鈥檙e going to try to take credit for what you鈥檝e done, don鈥檛 get in the way of what we still need to do.鈥�
The president is visiting Cleveland just as to the White House鈥檚 $1.7 trillion infrastructure proposal. The Biden administration is also promoting .
In his speech at Tri-C Thursday, Biden argued for higher taxes on corporations and high earners to pay for his agenda.
鈥淚'm not looking to punish anyone and say businesses shouldn't be able to make a significant profit,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 understand the risk and challenges business owners face and they should be rewarded for their success and the risks they take. I just think after decades of workers getting a raw deal, it's time they be given a fair shake.鈥�
Before the Air Force One flight back to Washington, D.C., Biden鈥檚 motorcade took a detour through the Old Brooklyn neighborhood for a Cleveland staple: Honey Hut ice cream.
Ahead of the speech, a handful of protesters waved Trump flags across the street from Tri-C鈥檚 campus, blasting pro-Trump rap songs from a loudspeaker at a line of cars waiting to enter the event.
Thursday marked Biden鈥檚 second visit to Ohio as president. In March, at The Ohio State University in Columbus.
The state has been recovering economically from more than a year of COVID-19 travails, but jobs numbers still lag pre-pandemic levels. Ohio鈥檚 unemployment rate fell to 4.7 percent in April, down from a high of 16.4 percent during the height of pandemic business shutdowns one year earlier. But there are still 300,000 fewer workers now than in February 2020.
The president spoke to an audience of about 40 people, plus local and national press, in a machine shop at Tri-C鈥檚 Manufacturing Technology Center. In attendance were several Ohio Democratic leaders, including Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Rep. Tim Ryan and Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley.
, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Robert Paduchik criticized the president for an oil pipeline project supported by the Trump administration.
鈥淭his act of fealty to the far-left element of the Democratic Party will destroy the financial well-being of many more working families,鈥� Paduchik wrote.
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