In the prominent Pennsylvania newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer, columnist Will Bunch writes in a new article that it’s time to raise the taxes owed by mega-rich billionaires like Elon Musk, who has recently gone from trying to buy Twitter (which he’s still allegedly interested in) to publicly lashing out in support of right-wing causes.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican,” Musk recently tweeted. It’s ridiculous to characterize Republicans as somehow not the party of “division & hate” when it’s members of their party who attacked the Capitol and it’s someone inspired by racist conspiracy theories several of their leaders have given rhetorical life to who recently attacked a Buffalo supermarket and killed 10 people. Bunch wrote:
‘Biden also needs to make sure that his No. 1 priority between now and Election Day is to work with Democrats and foster, or bludgeon, or whatever, a deal that would substantially raise taxes on Musk, Bezos and their fellow billionaires and multimillionaires, and then use that windfall for programs to rebuild the middle class. The president’s latest proposal — to raise $360 billion over a decade by taxing the top 0.1% at both a higher rate and for unrealized gains in their stock portfolios — should only be the starting point. We should talk more seriously about ideas like Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s aggressive wealth tax. Indeed, Musk’s meltdown almost feels like a plea for those of us in the 99 percent to put him out of his current misery.’
LONDON (AP) — Musk says deal to buy Twitter can’t go forward unless company can show that less than 5% of accounts are fake or spam.
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) May 17, 2022
And the money brought in by these taxes could be put to critically constructive use, he noted. As Bunch added:
‘These dollars could be put to such good use, starting with the unconscionable failure by Congress to extend the expanded Child Tax Credit, which has plunged 3.7 million of our children back into food insecurity and poverty. I’d also love to see a wealth tax pay for free or nearly free public universities and trade schools, which would allow Biden to end the current student-debt crisis without watching the start of a new one. After all, Musk, Bezos and their ilk have gotten so rich through the innovations of their young workers saddled with a big chunk of that $1.75 trillion ball-and-chain. Making these whiny, spoiled oligarchs pay it back is the one thing I can think of that would feel even better than shutting them up.’
I’m just going to make this blanket statement to all city leaders and decision-makers of ANY kind — please don’t listen to ANYTHING Elon Musk says about cities or urban transportation.
— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) May 23, 2022
Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, has recently been posting on Twitter, where he’s been lashing out against the Biden administration. “It doesn’t require a huge leap to figure out why one of the wealthiest individuals on Earth opposes an economic agenda for the middle class that cuts some of the biggest costs families face, fights inflation for the long haul, and adds to the historic deficit reduction the President is achieving by asking the richest taxpayers and corporations to pay their fair share,” Biden administration deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said in reference to Bezos. As for Musk, SpaceX — which he founded — was recently revealed to have paid a $250,000 settlement to a flight attendant who was apparently sexually harassed by Musk onboard one of the company’s corporate jets. Read more from the article Bunch wrote at this link.
This is what a rigged and corrupt system looks like.
Effective Tax Rate:
0.1%: Warren Buffett worth $111 billion
1.1%: Jeff Bezos worth $131 billion
1.8% Mike Bloomberg worth $82 billion
2.1%: Elon Musk worth $210 billion
13.5%: Registered NurseYes. It's time to #TaxTheRich
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 19, 2022
