Alexandria Ocasio Cortez or AOC is queen of controversies, says Sree Iyer as he analyses her work

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez: “Tax the rich” woman, rich on controversies

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, or AOC for short, is Congresswoman for New York’s 14th Congressional District and is the youngest person to ever to join Congress.

AOC is a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist who likes to tell everyone she bartended for a living before becoming a Congresswoman[1]. She is known in U.S. politics as a member of ‘The Squad‘ – a group of four women elected to Congress in 2018 who are among the most left-leaning voices in the Democratic Party. The original members – AOC, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib – were joined by Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush following the 2020 election[2].

However, before she was a bartender, she went to Boston University, one of the most expensive private universities in the country. Paying $74,712 a year to attend college in today’s dollars makes AOC sound like a hypocrite in terms of wealth. With the median household income of roughly $68,000 in 2021, how does a Democratic Socialist afford to pay so much to attend college? AOC has never once mentioned she received a scholarship or grants to attend BU.[3]

If AOC really a Democratic Socialist, she would have attended community college or a normal state school. Perhaps she wouldn’t have even attend college like the majority of Americans.

If you claim to be for the poor and working-class, yet go to an expensive private university the annual costs more than what the people she claims to represent make, that seems pretty hypocritical, don’t you think?

One of the most disappointing things about AOC is how she frequently uses race to create division in her country. She is often heard putting down white people and creating an “us vs. them” dialogue.

Despite touting a Green New Deal, AOC spent thousands of dollars on ride-share apps.[3]

According to election filings, her campaign spent $29,365.70 on car services and $8,335.41 on subway fares, despite her Queens headquarters being just a one-minute walk from the subway.[4]

She also sparked fury among members of the Jewish community after comparing migrant detention centres to concentration camps. She faced backlash, particularly from the Jewish community. They responded to AOC with outrage over the comparison, accusing her of disrespecting Holocaust survivors.[5]

She was heavily criticized for the dress she wore on a Met Gala which had the message “Tax the Rich”.[6]

She has stated that it is ‘wrong’ for billionaires to exist in the US and her policy advisor said: ‘Every billionaire is a policy failure.’[7]

She has regularly called for huge taxes on the super-wealthy, previously saying in a public meeting in 2019 that a system that allows billionaires is ‘immoral’.[7]

The comments sparked a backlash with Bill Gates, who supports a harsher tax on the super wealthy, saying she is ‘so extreme’.[8]

He said: ‘I believe US tax rates can be more progressive. Now, you finally have some politicians who are so extreme that I’d say, ‘No, that’s even beyond.’ You start to create tax dodging and disincentives, and an incentive to have the income show up in other countries and things.’

The nation’s wealthiest Americans are already heavily taxed. In 2018, the top 1% of taxpayers – defined as those with adjusted gross income above $540,009 – earned 20.9% of all adjusted gross income (AGI) and paid 40.1% of all federal income taxes, according to data from the Tax Foundation.[9]

“You could tax the rich out of existence – bleed them dry, take every penny – and you would still not have enough to fund an AOC-envisioned government,” National Review’s Jay Nordlinger tweeted. “The rich provide an easy target to populists and other demagogues.”

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez faced a massive criticism over initial claims she made about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, with many noting that she wasn’t even in the Capitol when it occurred.[9]

The controversy erupted after the New York Congresswoman posted a video in which she described a confrontation with Capitol Police at her office, which is located on the larger Capitol complex. But it is not in the Capitol itself — which includes the dome, the House, and the Senate — and was where many rioters stormed in and were seen breaking windows.[10]

Her office is located in the Cannon building, which is accessible through underground tunnels connected to the Capitol as well as via a short stroll down a walkway and across the street. It was also one of the buildings where staff was told to evacuate after suspicious packages were found in the area. Law enforcement found pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails in the vicinity.[11][12]

Here’s what Sen. Kennedy had to say “Let me be frank. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez… someone needs to tell her that the voices in her head are not real. She says that the men and women of our border patrol and our authorities are intentionally running concentration camps on the southern border. She needs to go to the Holocaust Museum and see what a concentration camp is. The problem we’re having at the border, a problem that Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez has helped create is that we have 5,000 people a day, not a week, not a month, a day coming into this country. And we don’t have a place to put them. The Department of Homeland Security is out of money and the Congresswoman knows that. She says the conditions are inhumane. But yet, when we send a bill over to her to vote to improve those conditions, she voted no. Her hypocrisy is breathtaking. This is the bottom line. Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez believes that illegal immigration is a moral good. And she believes that the border is just a nuisance and it should be open; and, I don’t think that’s what America believes.”[13]

She apologized to her constituents for an abrupt decision to pull back her vote against providing $1 Billion in new fund building for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system. In a lengthy letter, Ocasio-Cort told her constituents that she opposed the funding, citing “persistent human rights abuses against the Palestinian people,” and had pleaded with top Democrats to delay the vote.[14]

What is worse, when it was clear that the bill was going to pass, she starts crying! Melodrama!!![15]

AOC thinks that her seat is safe and if it is true, then expect her to rise in the ranks fairly quickly. But America should pause and reflect – she lies, over-dramatizes and does not seem to represent her constituency – which has a sizeable Jewish population. How long will the voters of the 14th district of the state of New York continue to elect her? Only time will tell.

References:

[1] THE TRUTH ABOUT ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: The inside story of how, in just one year, Sandy the bartender became a lawmaker who triggers both parties – Jan 7, 2019, Insider

[2] AOC, Omar, Pressley, Tlaib: Who are ‘the squad’ of congresswomen? – Jul 18, 2019, BBC

[3] Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) A Hypocrite For Being Rich And Dating A White Guy? – Financial Samurai

[4] AOC responds to accusations she is a hypocrite after her campaign spent more than three times as much on car services as the subway despite her call for a Green New Deal – Mar 03, 2019, Mail Online

[5] Ocasio-Cortez compares migrant detention facilities to concentration camps – Jun 18, 2019, CNN

[6] Twitter erupts over Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Tax The Rich’ dress at Met Gala: ‘Hypocrisy of our ruling class’ – Sep 14, 2021, Fox News

[7] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said billionaires shouldn’t exist as long as Americans live in abject poverty – Jan 23, 2019, The Guardian

[8] Bill Gates Has Some Harsh Words for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Tax Plan – Feb 12, 2019, Fortune

[9] AOC faces backlash as critics point out she wasn’t in Capitol building during riot – Feb 03, 2021, Fox News

[10] Did AOC Really Have A Close Encounter at the Capitol on Jan 6th? – Feb 04, 2021, Charlie Kirk

[11] Capitol protests: Woman shot, killed ID’d as Ashli Babbitt, Air Force veteran – Jan 07, 2021, Fox News

[12] 2 pipe bombs and cooler of Molotov cocktails found near Capitol Building amid Capitol riot, DC Police Chief says – Jan 06, 2021, WUSA9

[13] Sen. John Kennedy calls out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “Her hypocrisy is breathtaking” – Jul 04, 2019, WUSA9

[14] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Apologizes for Vote on Iron Dome Funding – Sep 25, 2021, NY Times

[15] AOC roasted for shedding ‘crocodile tears’ after crying over Israel Iron Dome House vote – Sep 23, 2021, Fox News

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