Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, slammed Jeff Bezos on MS NOW after the billionaire suggested raising his taxes would do little to help the average American.
During an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon said the government could “double the taxes” he pays and “it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens.” Bezos also accused politicians who have called for raising taxes on the wealthy of “picking a villain and pointing fingers.”
During a joint appearance on Monday’s “All In,” Platner and Sanders responded to the billionaire’s comment.
“I think it’s abject nonsense,” Platner said. “I think that’s what somebody says when they don’t want to see their taxes go up.”
“There’s absolutely no question that if we target the wealth where it has been hoarded, frankly, for decades at this point, and we pull it back into our system and put it into social programs like healthcare, like childcare, like paying teachers what they are worth, we will absolutely improve the lives of working Americans and, quite frankly, improve our society as a whole,” he added.
Platner said it was Bezos who was pointing fingers, accusing him of promoting “propaganda” that’s “meant to protect himself and protect his crony friends.”
“We’re going to come after them for it,” Platner vowed. The Senate candidate has pledged that if elected, he would end “free rides for the billionaire class” and would push for a wealth tax on the country’s top income earners.
Sanders, who has endorsed Platner in his bid to take down incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, also slammed Bezos’ response, telling MS NOW it’s time for the “wealthiest people in this country, the billionaire class, to start paying their fair share of taxes.”
“What I know is that today we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had in the history of this country, much worse than the so-called Gilded Age,” Sanders said. “Meanwhile, the effective tax rate of billionaires is lower than that of a nurse or a truck driver.”
The Vermont independent, who is currently on his nationwide Fighting Oligarchy Tour, also mentioned a piece of legislation he introduced earlier this year, the “Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,” which would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on individuals with a net worth exceeding $1 billion.
With the funds raised from that tax, Sanders said the government could do “enormous things for the American people,” including providing more Americans with healthcare and childcare.
“The point is, there is so much inequality right now that taxes on billionaires can transform life for the working class of this country, which is right now struggling to pay the bills,” Sanders said.
You can watch Sanders and Platner’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
The post Sanders, Platner break down Bezos’ ‘nonsense’ objection to billionaire tax hikes appeared first on MS NOW.
