Biden Claims Trump Tax Cuts Left U.S. Unable to Afford Coronavirus Economic Rescue

Claim: Joe Biden said Sunday night that the Trump tax cuts of 2017 and Fed rate cuts of 2019 have left the U.S. unable to afford measures needed to stabilize the American economy during the coronavirus crisis.

“The problem is the policies of this administration. Economically have we eaten a lot of our seed corn here,” Biden said during the Democrat presidential debate. “The ability of us to use leverages that were available before have been used up by this god-awful tax cut of $1.9 trillion and the fact that we have used, the fed will be of little consequence now. They’ve already used what leverage they have.”

Verdict: False. Long-term interest rates are at all time lows, implying a robust appetite for the federal government’s Treasury bonds. And inflation is currently running below the Fed’s target, indicating that deficit spending is not creating a supply shortage that would push up prices.