Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has drawn plenty of criticism over a speech she delivered to the predominately black audience at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network event in New York — but it was a panelist at the event that the dealt the New York Democrat her strongest blow.
The freshman congresswoman championed the push against Amazon’s proposed new headquarters in New York, a move that president and chief investment officer of Advent Capital Management, Tracy Maitland, said showed that she and others like her are “financially illiterate.”
AOC sends Amazon out
“The people campaigning against the Amazon campus are financially illiterate,” Maitland told the crowd during a panel discussion titled “The Black Economic Agenda: Driving Capital into the Hands of Black Asset managers and Housing Developers.”
Maitland later told the New York Post: “This was a disgrace. I partially blame AOC for the loss of Amazon. She doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. That’s scary. We have to make sure she’s better educated or vote her out of office.”
Another panelist in that discussion, City University of New York (CUNY) chairman Bill Thompson, also complained that jobs had been “snatched away” from New York residents with the cancellation of the Amazon deal.
“We were at the table talking to Amazon on how students could get jobs… Those opportunities were snatched away,” Thompson said. “Those students look like us… We’re talking thousands of high-paying jobs. It was a disappointment from a CUNY perspective.”
Tax credits vs. tax subsidies
For his part, Maitland took particular exception to how Ocasio-Cortez and others were either mistaken about — or purposely mischaracterized — the $3 billion in tax incentives the city and state of New York had offered Amazon to build a headquarters in Queens.
Folks like Ocasio-Cortez falsely portrayed the $3 billion as taxpayer money that would have been given to Amazon as a subsidy, when in reality, Amazon would merely have been awarded $3 billion in tax credits — that is, Amazon would’ve been let off the hook for $3 billion in taxes they would have owed, in the hopes that the company would reinvest the money back into the business.
That credit could have created an estimated 25,000 new jobs, which would have generated an estimated $30 billion in additional tax revenue over time.
Gotham’s new villain
Ocasio-Cortez was most certainly a driving force behind the activist effort to kill the Amazon deal.
But it remains unclear if she purposely mischaracterized the offered tax credits to malign the proposed deal or simply doesn’t understand the difference between tax credits and tax subsidies.
If the former, then she truly is a “villain” — as a recent poll of disappointed New Yorkers called her — but if the latter, then she is indeed “financially illiterate” and not fit to be a member of Congress who makes decisions on how the nation spends its money.
521 Responses
Fantastic blog article.Much thanks again. Great.
Im obliged for the blog. Will read on…
I think this is one of the most important information for me. And i am glad reading your article. But want to remark on some general things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers
Enjoyed every bit of your blog article. Cool.
Great article post.Thanks Again. Awesome.
Really informative blog.Really looking forward to read more.
I truly appreciate this post.Really thank you! Really Great.
I cannot thank you enough for the blog post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
Thanks so much for the blog.
Really appreciate you sharing this blog. Awesome.
Muchos Gracias for your post. Awesome.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog.Really thank you! Great.
Very good article post. Keep writing.
Thank you ever so for you blog. Awesome.
Fantastic blog post. Want more.
As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you
Thanks-a-mundo for the blog article.Much thanks again. Great.
As a Newbie, I am permanently browsing online for articles that can benefit me. Thank you
As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can help me. Thank you
A big thank you for your article post.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
Im grateful for the blog.Really looking forward to read more. Will read on…
I truly appreciate this post. Will read on…
Very neat blog article. Want more.
Thanks so much for the blog.Thanks Again. Want more.
wow, awesome blog.Really thank you! Want more.
Thanks again for the article post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.
Really appreciate you sharing this blog.Really thank you! Want more.
Muchos Gracias for your blog.Really thank you! Want more.
Useful info. Lucky me I discovered your website accidentally, and I am stunned why this twist of fate didn’t took place in advance! I bookmarked it.
Ive learn some good stuff here. Certainly price bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how so much effort you put to create this sort of wonderful informative website.
I am so happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that’s at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best doc.
Amazing blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your design. Thank you
I am really impressed with your writing talents as neatly as with the layout in your blog. Is this a paid subject or did you modify it your self? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, its rare to see a great blog like this one today..
Say, you got a nice article. Want more.
Very good article post.Thanks Again. Will read on…
Thanks again for the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Really Cool.
Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a few months of hard work due to no data backup. Do you have any solutions to prevent hackers?
You really make it appear really easy along with your presentation however I in finding this topic to be actually one thing that I think I’d by no means understand. It sort of feels too complex and very huge for me. I am taking a look ahead to your subsequent submit, I will try to get the grasp of it!
Really appreciate you sharing this article post.Really thank you! Fantastic.
Im obliged for the article.Really looking forward to read more. Really Great.