Politics of Envy: Bernie Sanders, who never held a steady job until he started getting paid by taxpayers, thinks Amazon should pay its workers more. And if it doesn't, he wants to tax Amazon for each "underpaid" employee, to finance government benefits. Even Bernie's friends think he's off the rails.
XSanders, never one for subtlety, calls his new bill the "Stop BEZOS Act." It would impose a tax on each worker employed by any company that hires more than 500 people. The tax would cover 100% of the cost of whatever federal benefits those workers or their families might also be getting.
The claim made by Sanders and other leftists is that low wages paid by big companies like Amazon mean that plenty of its employees must rely on food stamps, Medicaid, and the like, to make ends meet. In effect, Sanders says, taxpayers are subsidizing low wages paid by Amazon, Walmart, McDonalds, and the like. So why not recoup those government costs directly from these skinflint companies?
"We do not believe that taxpayers should have to expend huge sums of money subsidizing profitable corporations owned by some of the wealthiest people in this country. That's what a rigged economy is about," Sanders says.
But Sanders' plan is so woefully misguided that even liberals say it's a bad idea.
First, the very premise of his bill is flawed. Sanders claims that "low wages cost taxpayers $152.8 billion per year" because these workers rely on federal programs.
The figure comes from the UC Berkeley Labor Center. But to arrive at that figure, the researchers there included in its definition of "working families" those putting in as little as 10 hours a week, 27 weeks of the year. It's hardly surprising that some of these part-time, transient workers rely on government benefits, but that's not Amazon's fault.
Sanders also cites numbers produced by dubious union-backed and partisan "studies." His claim that Walmart's low wages cost taxpayers $6.2 billion is based on a Democratic report that put together grossly inflated numbers from one state.
Second, forcing the cost of labor higher will lead to fewer jobs, increasing dependency on government.
Amazon, to its credit, hit back at Sanders. It notes that he lumps in "people who worked for Amazon for a short period of time and/or chose to work part time" as being "underpaid."
Amazon's statement goes on to say that "While Sen. Sanders plays politics and makes misleading accusations, we are expending real money and effort upskilling people with our Career Choice program."
Touche.
Bernie Sanders' Plan: Too Leftist For Liberals
Sanders is even getting blowback from liberals.
A report from the left-wing Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, for example, warns that Sanders bill would "create powerful incentives for employers to seek to minimize their hiring of workers who are in low-income families and, thus, more likely to qualify for Medicaid or nutrition or housing assistance."
The liberal Vox.com quotes University of Chicago public policy professor Bruce Meyer saying "I'm skeptical that raising the cost to successful firms of hiring more employees is a good idea."
Ya think?
The timing of Sanders bill makes no sense either. Businesses right now are beating the bushes looking for people willing to work. The unemployment rate among blacks and Hispanics is at record lows. New jobless claims hit a 49-year low this week. Household income is at record highs.
If Bernie Sanders wants to cut down on government dependency, he should be pulling for Trump's pro-growth tax cuts and deregulation, which are fueling today's hiring binge and boosting incomes. Not pushing ill-conceived, job killing new taxes.
In other words, the Stop BEZOS Act is an idea that only someone as clueless about the private sector as Bernie Sanders could embrace.
Unfortunately, the ranks of the Democratic Party are rapidly filling up with people like him.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Venezuela's Tragic Mass Exodus Has Only One Cause: Socialism
Gov't Spends $18 Billion On Jobs Programs, But Can't Tell If They Work
Household Income Jumps To All-Time Highs Under Trump — Why Isn't This Big News?
