Bezos Announces Support For Biden Infrastructure Plan In Blow To GOP

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Whenever Democrats have control of Congress and sit in the Oval Office, Republicans suddenly get religion on the national debt, insisting that absolutely nothing can be done that costs any money. When Trump was president, the country could afford a useless and unnecessary multi-billion dollar wall across the southern border. Now that Biden is president, infrastructure is too big an investment.

As any economist would explain, borrowing money is not the benchmark as to whether the economy will do well; it’s what the borrowed money is spent on that makes a difference. Even Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is announcing his support of a massive piece of legislation that President Joe Biden has planned.

In a statement, the company said that:

‘We support the Biden Administration’s focus on making bold investments in American infrastructure. Both Democrats and Republicans have supported infrastructure in the past and it’s the right time to work together to make this happen. We recognize this investment will require concessions from all sides — both on the specifics of what’s included as well as how it gets paid for (we’re supportive of a rise in the corporate tax rate). We look forward to Congress and the Administration coming together to find the right, balanced solution that maintains or enhances U.S. competitiveness.’

Biden’s plans will bring jobs and money to a workforce long exploited for their labor by corporate CEOs like Bezos, who is currently the wealthiest man in the world but is aggressively opposed to his employees unionizing and having collective bargaining rights. Amazon workers are the exact type of people Biden’s legislation would impact the most positively; with more well-paying available jobs on the market, companies like Amazon will need to raise wages to retain employees, and they’ll need to reform some of their practices.

According to NBC News:

‘Biden introduced his $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, called the American Jobs Plan, last month at a carpenters training facility in Pittsburgh. The sweeping plan would create millions of jobs, rebuild 20,000 miles of roads, expand access to clean water and broadband and invest in care for the elderly, the president said.

‘The proposal, which would be spent out over eight years, would be paid for over 15 years by raising the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent, ending the Trump-era tax cuts.’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has recently made his criticism of Bezos and his company’s practices more vocal, a move that may have sparked Bezos’s sudden interest in supporting a corporate tax hike and redeeming his image. While the infrastructure bill should absolutely be passed and will be a positive step toward reducing income inequality, Bezos may find that American workers feel they are worth far more than the Amazon CEO is willing to give.

Sanders posted on social media about this issue, saying:

‘Jeff Bezos, worth $180 billion, is getting nervous. He’s afraid that if Amazon workers in Alabama vote to unionize, it’ll give workers all over America the courage to take on his greed & win economic justice. He’s spending millions against this union to keep billions for himself.’

Featured image screenshot via YouTube