Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg admitted during his Sunday town hall on Fox News that when he talks about “fair taxes,” what he means is “higher taxes.”
WATCH:
The South Bend, Indiana mayor took a question early in the evening about fiscal responsibility. (RELATED: Trump Dubs Pete Buttigieg ‘Alfred E. Neuman)
New Hampshire state director of the Concord Coalition Tyler Sweeney asked, “We reached $22 trillion in national debt. What would a President Buttigieg do to restore fiscal responsibility?”
Buttigieg began by attacking the Trump tax cuts, saying, “You don’t blow a hole in the budget with an unnecessary and unaffordable tax cut for the wealthiest. Part of it is ‘do no harm.'”
“Mayor Pete” went on to argue that debt and deficits can play a legitimate role in a functioning economy as long as the debt is tied to programs or initiatives that will eventually pay for themselves.
“When candidates, Democrats, go out promising — as I think we should — that we’re going to have major increases in investment in things like education, health and infrastructure, we also gotta be willing to say where the revenue’s going to come from,” Buttigieg explained. “That’s why we really do need to entertain ideas like, I would say a fairer — which means higher — marginal income tax rate on those with the most.”