By Patrick O'Connor
CHICAGO--Florida Sen. Marco Rubio cast himself Tuesday as "a new
president for a new age," laying out a series of economic
initiatives to boost growth and give lower- and middle-income
Americans access to the training and education needed to gain a
foothold in the 21st-century economy.
The Republican candidate outlined the proposals in an economic
speech in which he urged policy makers to help workers overcome
challenges presented by globalization, the technology revolution
that spawned the Internet, and the automation displacing workers in
all segments of the economy.
"The path to the middle class is narrower today than it has been
for generations, and the American dream so many achieved in the
last century is in peril," Mr. Rubio said, at a technology hub in
Chicago's Merchandise Mart where entrepreneurs congregate to work
on new ventures. "It is not the result of a cyclical economic
downturn that will naturally correct itself. It is borne of a
fundamental transformation."
Mr. Rubio and several of his GOP rivals have made the economy,
particularly wage stagnation and the sense that working-class
Americans are falling behind, a central theme of their campaigns.
Mr. Rubio is using his background as the son of a bartender and
hotel maid to align himself with people who haven't enjoyed the
benefits of the economic recovery.
Some candidates and their advisers believe the eventual nominee
will be the candidate who offers the best recipe to address these
concerns.
Most of the remedies Mr. Rubio proposed are staples of his
economic-policy platform, including plans to reduce corporate tax
rates to 25%, curb federal regulations by putting a cap on how much
they cost, and allow companies to bring overseas revenue back to
the U.S. without an additional tax hit. He also would cut taxes on
business investments and give the public more access to the digital
spectrum controlled by the federal government.
Mr. Rubio, who authored a tax plan with Sen. Mike Lee (R.,
Utah), would leave the top individual tax rate at 35%, unlike some
of his GOP rivals. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's top tax rate
would be 28%. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has called for scrapping the
current tax code and replacing it with a 14.5% flat tax on all
income, regardless of how much money a person makes.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, meanwhile, has pledged to abolish the
Internal Revenue Service entirely.
Many candidates haven't yet offered detailed plans, including
former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, the clear favorite for the Democratic nomination.
A number of prominent conservatives have criticized Mr. Rubio's
tax proposals, saying they would add to the deficit unless they
were paired with other policy changes to cut federal spending.
Others disagree with his calls to expand the child-tax credit,
expressing doubt about whether his $2,500 credit would spur
economic growth.
One cornerstone of the speech--and Mr. Rubio's campaign--was his
vow to revamp the higher-education system by expanding access to
trade schools and for-profit colleges and making it easier for
students to secure federally protected loans.
On Tuesday, he promised to "bust" the higher-education "cartel"
dominated by "existing colleges and universities."
The Florida senator also wants to let companies pay for
employees' education, invest more in vocational training starting
in high school, and require schools to tell prospective students
how much they can expect to earn after graduation, depending on the
degrees they pursue.
Mr. Rubio took shots at Mrs. Clinton and made veiled swipes at
Mr. Bush's father and brother. The government shouldn't raise taxes
as it did under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, he
said, or "grow government" like it did under Jeb Bush's brother,
President George W. Bush.
"The race for the future will never be won by going backward,"
Mr. Rubio said.
On Tuesday, Jeb Bush's campaign unveiled a new video calling him
an executive who made "tough decisions" that spurred job growth and
balanced the state's budget--a not-too-subtle contrast with Mr.
Rubio and other current and former senators in the race.
Write to Patrick O'Connor at patrick.oconnor@wsj.com