Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Defends Bernie Sanders: ‘No Person Should Have a Billion Dollars’

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a rally a
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Hannah Knudsen

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) defended socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) proclamation that “billionaires should not exist,” clarifying his remarks by adding, “No person should have a billion dollars.”

Sanders unveiled his aggressive “wealth tax” last week and proclaimed that “billionaires should not exist”:

Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described socialist, defended Sanders’ remarks against Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman, who was asked to defend billionaires.

“Maybe Bernie shouldn’t exist,” Schwarzman, who has an estimated net worth of more than $17 billion, reportedly said.

The freshman lawmaker tried to soften Sanders’ remarks.

“‘Billionaires should not exist’ does not mean certain people should not exist,” she wrote. “It means no person should have a billion dollars.”

She added that the “ascent of billionaires is a symptom & outcome of an immoral system”:

Sanders’ “extreme wealth tax” goes further than Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA), his counterpart. Under his plan, couples who have a net worth of more than $32 million would face a one percent tax, the tax rising as the net worth increases:

The tax rate would increase to 2 percent on net worth from $50 to $250 million, 3 percent from $250 to $500 million, 4 percent from $500 million to $1 billion, 5 percent from $1 to $2.5 billion, 6 percent from $2.5 to $5 billion, 7 percent from $5 to $10 billion, and 8 percent on wealth over $10 billion.

Sanders also plans to create a “national wealth registry” and increase IRS funding to handle a wave of new audits.

University of California, Berkeley, economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman estimate that Sanders’ wealth tax would result in an additional $4.5 trillion in revenue over the next ten years, which fails to scratch a dent in Sanders’ costly proposals. His Green New Deal, the most ambitious climate change plan of all the Democrat candidates, will cost at least $16 trillion alone.

Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks come just days after the two socialist lawmakers dined together at the Penny Cluse Cafe in Burlington, Vermont:

While the far-left “Squad” member has yet to endorse a presidential candidate, her recent defense of Sanders is likely to fuel further speculation.

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