Jeff Bezos Criticizes Biden Administration on Inflation, ‘Misdirection’

Emel Akan
By Emel Akan
May 15, 2022Business News
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Jeff Bezos Criticizes Biden Administration on Inflation, ‘Misdirection’
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks during an Action on Forests and Land Use event on day three of COP26 at SECC in Glasgow, United Kingdom, on Nov. 2, 2021. (Paul Ellis/Pool/Getty Images)

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, ramped up his criticism of President Joe Biden on May 15, stating that the “misdirection” coming from the White House is not helping the country.

Bezos, like many economists, slammed the administration’s attempts to stoke an already overheated economy with further stimulus. He said inflation mostly harms the poor.

“In fact, the administration tried hard to inject even more stimulus into an already over-heated, inflationary economy and only Manchin saved them from themselves,” he wrote on Twitter. “Inflation is a regressive tax that most hurts the least affluent. Misdirection doesn’t help the country.”

The statement from Bezos was in response to a thread on Twitter in which Biden claimed credit for the reduction of the federal budget deficit.

“Under my predecessor, the deficit increased every single year,” Biden wrote on Twitter on May 14. “This year, we’re on track to cut the deficit by $1.5 trillion–the biggest one-year decline ever. It matters to families, because reducing the deficit is one of the main ways we can ease inflationary pressures.”

Critics, however, have contended that Biden distorts reality when he asserts that he is directly responsible for the decline in the deficit while, in fact, government expenditure has been decreasing from extremely high levels due to the end of temporary pandemic relief spending.

This is the second time this week that Bezos has blasted the Biden administration. The Amazon’s founder earlier criticized Biden’s tweets over inflation and business taxes.

“You want to bring down inflation? Let’s make sure the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share,” Biden wrote on Twitter on May 13.

In response to Biden’s tweet, Bezos stated that blaming companies was “misdirection” and that the president should be subject to his own Disinformation Board.

“The newly created Disinformation Board should review this tweet, or maybe they need to form a new Non Sequitur Board instead,” Bezos wrote.

“Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection.”

These Twitter posts are believed to be the billionaire’s first public spat with Biden.

Biden has recently proposed a new minimum tax on billionaires as part of his 2023 fiscal year budget plan. The president has requested that Congress approve a law requiring the wealthiest American households to pay a minimum tax rate of 20 percent on their entire income, including unrealized investment income.

It’s uncertain whether the new tax will pass Congress, but it’s been criticized for adding to the complexity of the tax code.

From The Epoch Times

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