The billionaire owner of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, has thrown his hat into the presidential ring as an independent candidate in 2020.
He has publicly declared that his singular motive for entering the race is the
recent suggestion by Democratic leaders to raise taxes on America’s millionaires and billionaires.
Does anyone else catch a whiff of billionaire self-interest in Schultz’s candidacy?
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has suggested a 70% tax rate on America’s 1% (see my post discussing her ideas here). Sen. Elizabeth Warren, not to be outdone, suggests a 2% wealth tax on income above $50 million and a 3% tax on wealth above $1 billion.
Remember, these are marginal tax rates (see an explanation of marginal taxation here).
Such talk is down-right horrifying to Mr. Schultz. In fact, he takes it very personally. So much so that he deliberately misconstrues such suggestions as “personal attacks” launched against him as an individual!
Take a moment (actually 7:26) to check out this clip from The Young Turks. It contains a slice of Mr. Schultz’s hissy fit over the idea of slightly raising his marginal tax rate together with some good analysis and commentary from Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uyger. It’s well worth a listen.
Schultz’s candidacy is another fine example of the class war in America.
