The Democrats are constantly rattling on about getting the rich to pay their “fair share” in taxes, even though the percentages one must pay in federal income tax rise with one’s income. Yet in this, as in so very much else, leftists are total hypocrites. The latest example of this rampant hypocrisy is none other than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Workers’ Paradise), who has just been ordered to pony up fair market price for the infamous “Tax the Rich” dress she wore to the 2021 Met Gala.
Yes, that was four years ago. Yes, in this case the wheels of justice have ground exceedingly slowly, but since we’re talking about a leading leftist here and the notorious two-tier justice system that still exists, though it is not nearly as strong and unapologetic as it was during the dark days of the Biden regime, we should be grateful that they grind at all.
The New York Times reported Friday that AOC “personally paid about $1,000 to rent the dress and accessories. But in a report released on Friday, the bipartisan House Ethics Committee concluded her initial payment had fallen short of the fair market rate, violating House rules.”
That’s not to say that the Ethics Committee was suggesting that AOC was trying to skirt the rules regarding her fancy proletarian outfit. Perish the thought! When have socialists ever tried to bend the rules? The Times noted that “while the committee found no reason to believe that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was trying to stiff the vendors, it wrote that “it would be appropriate” for her to pay an additional $2,733.28 to cover what it determined was the full value of her outfit.”
The report explained: “While the committee did not find that Representative Ocasio-Cortez’s violations were knowing and willful, she nonetheless received impermissible gifts and must bear responsibility for the other conduct that occurred with respect to the delays in payment.” A socialist being held responsible for her actions? Have the End Times begun?
Despite its insistence that the socialist firebrand did nothing wrong, the committee levied a fine of sorts: “The panel also urged the congresswoman to make a $250 donation to the Met’s Costume Institute, the beneficiary of the star-studded annual gala, to cover the cost of a meal for her partner, Riley Roberts, who accompanied her. Once she did, the panel would close the yearslong investigation, it said.”
It’s incredible that there was a “yearslong investigation” of this at all, but it was no surprise at all that AOC would preach about income inequality while enjoying all the perks of being a prominent public figure. Shouldn’t a dedicated fighter for the proletariat be entitled to a few small favors?
For socialists, enjoying the perks that they deny to the masses is not a bug; it’s a feature. In practice, socialism and Marxism don’t really involve what leftist leaders such as AOC, Bernie Sanders, and Barack Obama say they mean, that is, actually spreading the wealth around. The wealth is spread around only to the ruling class. Sweetheart discounts like the one AOC received on her Tax the Rich dress are only for members of the in-crowd. Socialism means that the wealth of those who have no political power is confiscated for the benefit of those who do have political power. That’s the way leftists always behave when they’re firmly ensconced in power.
Related: The Extent to Which the State Department Wasted Your Money Was Truly Shocking
In the old Soviet Union, while all the rhetoric was about how the workers had thrown off their oppressors and were now in charge, the common people were more impoverished than ever, as well as more powerless. Those who really had the political power, and were supposedly running this “dictatorship of the proletariat,” meanwhile, lived it up in sumptuous dachas and feasted on gourmet meals served on the finest china.
And so the rich, as AOC would be the first to tell you, must pay their fair share. But when AOC or her comrades don’t pay their fair share, why, that’s just social justice, comrade! One might have gotten the impression that AOC would have been glad to pay full market value to rent her dress (and the accessories) at the outset, because that would be a gesture of support for all the workers who had a hand in creating it and making it available to her. But paying full value, that’s for capitalists.
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