THIS SUMMER, AMAZON founder JeffBezos went to the edge of space on a ship he built with his own earnings. A bunch of people saw the billionaire blast off and thought: “Screw that guy and his dumb rocket— the government should take his money because I have a much better idea of how to spend it.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) tweeted, “Here on Earth, in the richest country on the planet, half our people live paycheck to paycheck, people are struggling to feed themselves, struggling to see a doctor—but hey, the richest guys in the world are off in outer space! Yes. It’s time to tax the billionaires.” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D–Ore.) said he’ll introduce legislation that would tax wealthy space tourists in order to “support the public good.” And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D–N.Y.) reiterated their calls to abolish billionaires via a wealth tax.
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