WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — President Joe Biden on Thursday made his case to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans and large corporations as an inflection point in American history and the only way to even the playing field for the middle class. 

“This is our moment to prove the American people that our government works for them,” Biden said.

Biden says it’s unacceptable for 55 of the most profitable corporations in the country to pay zero in taxes.

“Pay your fair share,” Biden said. “How is it possible for millionaires and billionaires that can pay a lower rate in tax than teachers, firefighters and law enforcement officers.”

Right now, he’s pressuring Congress to not just raise taxes on corporations and Americans making more than $400,000 per year, but also give the IRS billions to crack down on tax evasion.

“It’s long overdue,” Biden said.

But Republicans like Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley call the president’s plan outright socialism.

“This is basically a woke left takeover of the country, I mean they want to remake our entire society,” Hawley said.

Economist Mark Hamrick says the issue isn’t wealthy people or corporations and that it’s the tax code.

“The tax system is in need of much more reform than just some sort of a policing mechanism,” Hamrick said.

He says the president may be misrepresenting the problem.

“I do feel like there’s a little bit of a political haze here in the sense that it’s easy to attack successful corporations, which in Amazon’s case for instance employing a million Americans,” Hamrick said.

Right now, Democrats are fine tuning the final texts of the president’s plan.

The president’s main audience on Thursday was moderate Democrats who’ve already expressed cold feet about the bill’s price tag.