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'I love people trying to tell him how to spend his own money': Gayle King defends Jeff Bezos amid criticism...
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Miloch
Jul 21, 2021, 11:07:51 AM7/21/21
to
...over his $5.5bn space flight after fawning interview inside Blue Origin crew
capsule
more at
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9810575/Gayle-King-defends-Jeff-Bezos-amid-criticism-5-5bn-space-flight.html
*Gayle King interviewed Bezos and his brother Mark inside the crew capsule on
Tuesday, hours after they returned from space
*She then, in the CBS studio on Wednesday, defended him against criticism
*Bezos was slammed for thanking Amazon staff and customers for 'paying' for the
space flight
*Many said it was a 'tone deaf' comment from the world's richest man when there
are disgruntled Amazon workers
*Others pointed out a Pro Publica report which revealed Bezos paid just 1.1%
federal income tax on the $127bn he made between 2006 and 2018
*Gayle said sarcastically on Wednesday: 'I love people trying to tell him how to
spend his own money'
*She also praised him for giving $200m to Van Jones and Jose Andres to use on
their charities
Gayle King defended billionaire Jeff Bezos on Wednesday after he was criticized
for spending $5.5billion on his flight to space, suggesting he should be able to
spend his money how he wants and pointing out all the good he does with charity
work.
Gayle had interviewed Bezos and his brother Mark in Van Horn, hours after they
returned to Earth following their 10-minute voyage into space.
They took her inside the crew capsule which propelled them above Earth's
atmosphere and told her what it was like when the g-force pulled the skin on
their cheeks back on lift-off.
Bezos later drew criticism for thanking Amazon workers and staff for 'paying
for' the mission - a childhood dream of his - when hundreds of Amazon employees
are disgruntled, and when he himself paid 1.1% federal income tax on the
$127billion he made between 2006 and 2018, according to a recent Pro Publica
report.
In the CBS studio in New York City on Wednesday morning, Gayle said: 'There's
been a lot of talk about all the money that was spent and how he spends his
money...
'I love people trying to tell him how to spend his own money.'
She then fawned over Bezos' 'jaw dropping' gift of $100million each to CNN's Van
Jones and Chef Jose Andres. The pair both run their own charities and Bezos said
they can use the money however they see fit.
Bezos later drew criticism for thanking Amazon workers and staff for 'paying
for' the mission - a childhood dream of his - when hundreds of Amazon employees
are disgruntled, and when he himself paid 1.1% federal income tax on the
$127billion he made between 2006 and 2018, according to a recent Pro Publica
report.
In the CBS studio in New York City on Wednesday morning, Gayle said: 'There's
been a lot of talk about all the money that was spent and how he spends his
money...
'I love people trying to tell him how to spend his own money.'
She then fawned over Bezos' 'jaw dropping' gift of $100million each to CNN's Van
Jones and Chef Jose Andres. The pair both run their own charities and Bezos said
they can use the money however they see fit.
The billionaire - worth a staggering $214billion - went to space on Tuesday with
his brother Mark, astronaut Wally Funk, and Dutch teen Oliver Daemen whose
private equity father paid an undisclosed but likely exorbitant amount for his
seat.
His goal is to build a 'road to space' to move earth's most damaging industries
there and save the planet.
At a press conference on Tuesday after the flight, Bezos grinned and said: 'I
want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys
paid for all this.
'So, to every Amazon customer out there and every Amazon employee thank you from
the bottom of my heart.'
The comment was stinging for many who pointed out that Bezos is the richest man
in the world but not the most philanthropic, and while he's spent $5.5billion
fulfilling his personal dream of going to space, he's fought Amazon workers'
demands.
What's more, many pointed out that he didn't pay income tax for years.
Between 2006 and 2018, his personal fortune grew by $127billion but he only paid
$1.4billion in taxes - a rate of 1.1 percent. By comparison, the tax brackets
for 2020 to 2021 go as high as 37 percent for someone earning over $500,000 a
year, and start at 10 percent for the first $10,000 of anyone's salary.
On Tuesday, Bezos announced a $100million award for 'civility and courage' that
was to be used to better things on Earth by being donated to charity.
He gave it to CNN contributor Van Jones, who runs a prison reform non-profit
organization and works on racial justice, and gave another $100million to
celebrity chef Jose Andres whose charity World Central Kitchen fights hunger.
Many lauded him for the donations but others pointed out it is a tiny fraction
of what he spent on the space mission, and also pales in comparison to the
$5billion his ex-wife MacKenzie gave to charities in 2020 alone.
MacKenzie, after being awarded more than $30bn in their divorce and seeing that
grow to a value of over $50bn thanks to rising Amazon stock prices, joined the
Giving Pledge in 2020. She, like other members including Warren Buffett and Bill
and Melinda Gates, pledged to give away half their net worth. Jeff Bezos has not
signed up.
The Teamsters Union, which tried to unionize Amazon workers but failed earlier
this year, was among those to criticize Bezos.
'One part of Bezos's statement is surprisingly accurate - it is Amazon workers
who have built his fortune - but if Jeff Bezos really wants to thank Amazon
workers, he should listen to their demands for safer working conditions, a voice
in the workplace, and good, family sustaining middle class jobs—rather than
perpetuating a highly exploitative business model of high pace of work, high
rates of injury, high rates of turnover and low pay,' Randy Korgan, Teamsters
National Director for Amazon, told DailyMail.com.
Others asked why he was giving away $200million in philanthropic rewards instead
of increasing Amazon workers' pay, which starts at $15 an hour, twice the
federal minimum wage, a fact Bezos says proves he does listen to them.
Bernie Sanders and AOC were among those who slammed him for the comment on
Tuesday.
'Am I supposed to be impressed that a billionaire went to space while he's paid
zero in federal income taxes some years and the workers at his company struggle
to afford their medical bills, rent, and food for their kids?' the Vermont
senator tweeted.
'Nope. It's time to invest in working people here on Earth.'
Fellow Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts also took aim at Bezos
over his lack of tax payments, retweeting a post quoting the billionaire's
comments during the press conference.
'Jeff Bezos forgot to thank all the hardworking Americans who actually paid
taxes to keep this country running while he and Amazon paid nothing,' she
tweeted.
In a follow-up tweet, Warren urged Americans to sign her three-step plan to
change the nation's tax laws.
'I'm pushing for three changes to our tax laws—a #WealthTax, a Real Corporate
Profits Tax, and long-term funding for the IRS to go after wealthy tax cheats—to
make billionaires & mega-corporations start paying their fair share,' she wrote.
Last month, a ProPublica report revealed that Bezos paid nothing in federal
income taxes in 2007 and 2011.
Confidential tax documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service, seen by the
publication, showed the world's richest man avoided paying a dime those years by
citing losing more than he earned.
Instead, he reportedly claimed and received a $4,000 tax credit for children.
This credit is supposed to be for families that earn less than $100,000.
*
capsule
more at
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9810575/Gayle-King-defends-Jeff-Bezos-amid-criticism-5-5bn-space-flight.html
*Gayle King interviewed Bezos and his brother Mark inside the crew capsule on
Tuesday, hours after they returned from space
*She then, in the CBS studio on Wednesday, defended him against criticism
*Bezos was slammed for thanking Amazon staff and customers for 'paying' for the
space flight
*Many said it was a 'tone deaf' comment from the world's richest man when there
are disgruntled Amazon workers
*Others pointed out a Pro Publica report which revealed Bezos paid just 1.1%
federal income tax on the $127bn he made between 2006 and 2018
*Gayle said sarcastically on Wednesday: 'I love people trying to tell him how to
spend his own money'
*She also praised him for giving $200m to Van Jones and Jose Andres to use on
their charities
Gayle King defended billionaire Jeff Bezos on Wednesday after he was criticized
for spending $5.5billion on his flight to space, suggesting he should be able to
spend his money how he wants and pointing out all the good he does with charity
work.
Gayle had interviewed Bezos and his brother Mark in Van Horn, hours after they
returned to Earth following their 10-minute voyage into space.
They took her inside the crew capsule which propelled them above Earth's
atmosphere and told her what it was like when the g-force pulled the skin on
their cheeks back on lift-off.
Bezos later drew criticism for thanking Amazon workers and staff for 'paying
for' the mission - a childhood dream of his - when hundreds of Amazon employees
are disgruntled, and when he himself paid 1.1% federal income tax on the
$127billion he made between 2006 and 2018, according to a recent Pro Publica
report.
In the CBS studio in New York City on Wednesday morning, Gayle said: 'There's
been a lot of talk about all the money that was spent and how he spends his
money...
'I love people trying to tell him how to spend his own money.'
She then fawned over Bezos' 'jaw dropping' gift of $100million each to CNN's Van
Jones and Chef Jose Andres. The pair both run their own charities and Bezos said
they can use the money however they see fit.
Bezos later drew criticism for thanking Amazon workers and staff for 'paying
for' the mission - a childhood dream of his - when hundreds of Amazon employees
are disgruntled, and when he himself paid 1.1% federal income tax on the
$127billion he made between 2006 and 2018, according to a recent Pro Publica
report.
In the CBS studio in New York City on Wednesday morning, Gayle said: 'There's
been a lot of talk about all the money that was spent and how he spends his
money...
'I love people trying to tell him how to spend his own money.'
She then fawned over Bezos' 'jaw dropping' gift of $100million each to CNN's Van
Jones and Chef Jose Andres. The pair both run their own charities and Bezos said
they can use the money however they see fit.
The billionaire - worth a staggering $214billion - went to space on Tuesday with
his brother Mark, astronaut Wally Funk, and Dutch teen Oliver Daemen whose
private equity father paid an undisclosed but likely exorbitant amount for his
seat.
His goal is to build a 'road to space' to move earth's most damaging industries
there and save the planet.
At a press conference on Tuesday after the flight, Bezos grinned and said: 'I
want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys
paid for all this.
'So, to every Amazon customer out there and every Amazon employee thank you from
the bottom of my heart.'
The comment was stinging for many who pointed out that Bezos is the richest man
in the world but not the most philanthropic, and while he's spent $5.5billion
fulfilling his personal dream of going to space, he's fought Amazon workers'
demands.
What's more, many pointed out that he didn't pay income tax for years.
Between 2006 and 2018, his personal fortune grew by $127billion but he only paid
$1.4billion in taxes - a rate of 1.1 percent. By comparison, the tax brackets
for 2020 to 2021 go as high as 37 percent for someone earning over $500,000 a
year, and start at 10 percent for the first $10,000 of anyone's salary.
On Tuesday, Bezos announced a $100million award for 'civility and courage' that
was to be used to better things on Earth by being donated to charity.
He gave it to CNN contributor Van Jones, who runs a prison reform non-profit
organization and works on racial justice, and gave another $100million to
celebrity chef Jose Andres whose charity World Central Kitchen fights hunger.
Many lauded him for the donations but others pointed out it is a tiny fraction
of what he spent on the space mission, and also pales in comparison to the
$5billion his ex-wife MacKenzie gave to charities in 2020 alone.
MacKenzie, after being awarded more than $30bn in their divorce and seeing that
grow to a value of over $50bn thanks to rising Amazon stock prices, joined the
Giving Pledge in 2020. She, like other members including Warren Buffett and Bill
and Melinda Gates, pledged to give away half their net worth. Jeff Bezos has not
signed up.
The Teamsters Union, which tried to unionize Amazon workers but failed earlier
this year, was among those to criticize Bezos.
'One part of Bezos's statement is surprisingly accurate - it is Amazon workers
who have built his fortune - but if Jeff Bezos really wants to thank Amazon
workers, he should listen to their demands for safer working conditions, a voice
in the workplace, and good, family sustaining middle class jobs—rather than
perpetuating a highly exploitative business model of high pace of work, high
rates of injury, high rates of turnover and low pay,' Randy Korgan, Teamsters
National Director for Amazon, told DailyMail.com.
Others asked why he was giving away $200million in philanthropic rewards instead
of increasing Amazon workers' pay, which starts at $15 an hour, twice the
federal minimum wage, a fact Bezos says proves he does listen to them.
Bernie Sanders and AOC were among those who slammed him for the comment on
Tuesday.
'Am I supposed to be impressed that a billionaire went to space while he's paid
zero in federal income taxes some years and the workers at his company struggle
to afford their medical bills, rent, and food for their kids?' the Vermont
senator tweeted.
'Nope. It's time to invest in working people here on Earth.'
Fellow Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts also took aim at Bezos
over his lack of tax payments, retweeting a post quoting the billionaire's
comments during the press conference.
'Jeff Bezos forgot to thank all the hardworking Americans who actually paid
taxes to keep this country running while he and Amazon paid nothing,' she
tweeted.
In a follow-up tweet, Warren urged Americans to sign her three-step plan to
change the nation's tax laws.
'I'm pushing for three changes to our tax laws—a #WealthTax, a Real Corporate
Profits Tax, and long-term funding for the IRS to go after wealthy tax cheats—to
make billionaires & mega-corporations start paying their fair share,' she wrote.
Last month, a ProPublica report revealed that Bezos paid nothing in federal
income taxes in 2007 and 2011.
Confidential tax documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service, seen by the
publication, showed the world's richest man avoided paying a dime those years by
citing losing more than he earned.
Instead, he reportedly claimed and received a $4,000 tax credit for children.
This credit is supposed to be for families that earn less than $100,000.
*
Mitchell Holman
Jul 21, 2021, 1:28:40 PM7/21/21
to
Miloch <Miloch...@newsguy.com> wrote in
news:sd9d7...@drn.newsguy.com:
The Amazon employees who have to wear diapers
to work since they aren't allowed bathroom breaks.
https://gishgallop.com/amazon-now-issuing-adult-diapers-to-workers/
news:sd9d7...@drn.newsguy.com:
to work since they aren't allowed bathroom breaks.
https://gishgallop.com/amazon-now-issuing-adult-diapers-to-workers/
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