Andy Puzder: AOC’s socialist anti-Amazon vendetta takes aim at Virginia
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As part of her ongoing war on capitalism, socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) played an important role in blowing up the deal to bring more than 25,000 high-paying jobs at online retailing giant Amazon to New York City. In the process, she succeeded in killing jobs, stifling prosperity and reducing tax revenue for her home state of New York, including the residents of her New York City congressional district. That “victory” has inspired a group called “For Us, Not Amazon” that is attempting to spread the wealth – ergo, destruction - to Virginia.
This whole incident is a perfect parable for AOC and her followers’ misguided challenge to the ethos of American capitalism. It reflects an increasing commitment among leaders in the Democratic Party to the myth that socialism is a compassionate system necessary to protect the poor and oppressed from capitalist greed. It is simply untrue.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Amazon’s HQ2 plan will create between 25,000 and 38,750 jobs paying an average of at least $150,000 in Arlington, Virginia, over a 12-year period. Sounds like a pretty good deal for Virginians. But, the “For US” group is critical of this deal as it provides subsidies to entice Amazon to create those jobs in Virginia rather than somewhere else. So, is this a capitalist ruse to benefit Amazon or a good deal for Virginians both rich and poor?
Let’s start by looking at the tax benefits. The State of Virginia forecasts that for a maximum of $750 million in subsidies over 12 years, Amazon will conservatively generate a massive $3.8 billion in tax revenue over 20 years. Amazon only gets the subsidies after it creates the tax revenue producing jobs.
To put this in more relatable terms, it’s as if someone credibly offered to give you $3,800 over the next 3 weeks if you gave them $750 over the next week and a half. That’s a 500 percent return.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Would you really reject with distain $3,800 because the person to whom you were advancing $750 was wealthy and didn’t need it? You would if you were a socialist. This is one of the reasons socialism never works and always - every time and everywhere - results in poverty, want and misery.
Some have called Virginia’s agreeing to $750 million in subsidies as taxpayer “bribes.” I’d call it good negotiating – by Virginia.
These socialists are happy - proud, even - to shun these opportunities for the poor as long as they can punish the rich in the process.
Much of the $3.8 billion will come from income tax revenue generated by the salaries from at least 25,000 jobs Amazon will create directly and at least 22,000 associated jobs Virginia projects this increased economic activity will create indirectly. These indirect jobs come from Amazon employees spending their salaries in Virginia on things like food, clothing, housing, medical care, educations and entertainment. Or from the salaries of service providers for the Amazon facility such as construction workers and landscapers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Creating a job is like tossing a rock in a pond. It creates concentric circles of job creation and prosperity spreading like ripples in that pond. No jobs in Arlington, no ripples in Arlington. Just a bunch of unemployed socialists wondering where all the wealth went.
The “For US” folks argue that, rather than “giving away money to corporations,” Virginia should “invest in our communities instead.” Obviously, this deal will give Virginia more money – a lot more – to invest in its communities. Did I mention the 500 percent return? When states have more tax revenue, they can provide more services and benefits, not less.
But, this deal will do something at least as important for people in need. It will create economic opportunities - jobs - that can help people lift themselves out of poverty. These “For US” socialists are happy - proud, even - to shun these opportunities for the poor as long as they can punish the rich in the process. After all, “every billionaire is a policy failure,” as AOC advisor Dan Riffle infamously opined.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Luckily, President Trump doesn’t share the socialist disdain for economic prosperity. A lifelong champion of economic freedom, the president vowed during his State of the Union address that “America will never be a socialist country.”
The economic surge President Trump’s pro-growth policies have produced give him ample reason for confidence. While AOC and her fellow socialists celebrate sticking it to billionaires such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, the president can boast of policies that have delivered the best jobs market, the highest consumer confidence, and the strongest economic growth that America has enjoyed in decades.
The president doesn’t mind if billionaires - even liberal ones who don’t like him - benefit from policies that deliver prosperity for millions of Americans. His socialist adversaries would let the workers they claim to be protecting suffer in order to punish their enemies.
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AOC and the would-be revolutionaries who support her have unwittingly cast President Trump as the undisputed defender of American free market capitalism. Their timing couldn’t be better.
In a recent Harvard University poll, 65 percent of registered voters chose capitalism over socialism. Even among Democrats, 51 percent favored a more capitalist economy. Yet, 64 percent of voters say the Democratix Party promotes socialism. This vendetta against Amazon and prosperity is a clear example that the people are correct.
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