(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the young and misguided new congresswoman from New York, has proposed a 70 percent tax rate on the “wealthy” in order to pay for universal healthcare and broader welfare programs. She clearly does not understand basic economic principles, so President Donald Trump stepped in to help educate her.
According to The Daily Wire, President Donald Trump blasted far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) while talking to reporters on Thursday, highlighting the collapse of socialist Venezuela as an example of how her policies do not work.
“We’re looking at Venezuela, it’s a very sad situation,” Trump said. “That was the richest state in all of that area. That’s a big, beautiful area and by far the richest. And now it’s one of the poorest places in the world. That’s what socialism gets you when they want to raise your taxes to 70%.”
“I’ve been watching our opponents, our future opponents talking about 70%,” he continued. “Number one, they can’t do it for 70%. It’s got to probably be twice that number. But, maybe more importantly, what happens is you really have to study and take a look at what has happened to Venezuela. It’s a very sad situation. We have our eye very closely on Venezuela.”
President Trump takes a shot at Ocasio-Cortez: "We’re looking at Venezuela, it’s a very sad situation. That was the richest state in all of that area…and now it's one of the poorest places in the world. That's what socialism gets you. When they want to raise your taxes to 70%." pic.twitter.com/ce1muXFX5E
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) January 24, 2019
President Donald Trump was referring to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposed 70 percent marginal tax rate, which she discussed with comedian Stephen Colbert:
As the Washington Examiner noted, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s plan would destroy our economy in no time:
Many conservatives have expressed concern that this tax plan would be as bad as Venezuela’s, China’s, or those of the Nordic socialist states. The taxes she proposed are not as high as those in other nations. They’re even higher.
Sweden taxes its wealthiest citizens at a 61.75 percent marginal rate. Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands all have top marginal tax rates between 50-60 percent. Ocasio-Cortez proposed a top marginal tax bracket that is far higher than those of the socialist countries that her supporters admire.
The highest earners in China must pay a 45 percent marginal income tax rate. Venezuela’s top marginal tax rate is only 34 percent, but rampant government-boosted inflation and high taxes on goods and services have all but destroyed its economy.
Taxing the wealthy because they “need to pay their fair share” does not work and ignores the fact that the richest Americans pay more than their “fair share” already. According to the Tax Foundation:
- The top 1 percent paid a greater share of individual income taxes (39.0 percent) than the bottom 90 percent combined (29.4 percent).
- The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a 27.1 percent individual income tax rate, which is more than seven times higher than taxpayers in the bottom 50 percent (3.6 percent).
Moreover, a few years ago, France hiked taxes on the wealthy in their country and saw a mass exodus of millionaires as a result, with “10,000 millionaires leaving France for other countries in 2015,” and “12,000 millionaires” leaving the country in 2016, which the Daily Mail noted was “the highest out-flux in the world.”
We don’t have to wonder about the effects of socialism. They’ve been well-documented throughout history, and as President Trump noted, we are watching a nightmare unfold in real time where Venezuela is concerned. Anyone who would invite such destruction into our own country by duplicating the mistakes made by socialist nations ought to be tarred and feathered.
If you’re willing to take the financial advice of a glorified bartender over that of a successful billionaire, you’re part of the problem. Ocasio-Cortez couldn’t even afford to move to Washington, D.C. after she was elected because she didn’t have enough money to do so before she started receiving a lawmaker’s paycheck. But we’re supposed to believe she’s got all the answers when it comes to the economy? I don’t think so.
