Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Policy Guy: 'Every Billionaire is a Policy Failure'

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Policy Guy: ‘Every Billionaire is a Policy Failure’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)’s newly-hired policy advisor Dan Riffle has some strong opinions about Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and other billionaires in the United States, whom he believes should not exist.

Riffle, or “Every Billionaire Is A Policy Failure” according to his new Twitter handle, was apparently responsible for Ocasio-Cortez’s 70 percent marginal income tax rate on the highest-earning Americans. In response to a Politico tweet reporting the dramatically income high tax proposal, Riffle took personal credit, saying, “Sorry everyone, my bad. I’ll talk her up to 90.”

He later deleted his tweet, despite gaining encouragement from his boss.

Having 🔥 Twitter game is not a hiring requirement for my policy team, but they bring it anyway ⬇️ https://t.co/qBb1clwhSq

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 5, 2019

A former comms director for former Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and former marijuana lobbyist, Riffle sees the curbing of excessive wealth as not a rational effort, but a “moral” one. People like Gates may still be good people in spite of their wealth, but their existence is morally wrong, he says.

“Bill Gates’ money hoarding makes him greedy, but maybe he goes 6/6 on the other deadly sins and, on balance, is a good person,” he tweeted last night. “Still, he’s a policy failure. The acquisition of that much wealth has bad consequences. A moral society needs guardrails against it.”

In another tweet, Riffle said his goal for 2019 is for someone to ask Democratic primary candidates whether it is “morally appropriate for anyone to be a billionaire.”

“Ta-Nahesi just asked @aoc that question on stage at #MLKNow so we’re getting somewhere. She said it isn’t btw,” he tweeted.

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com

https://www.mediaite.com/uncategorized/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-policy-guy-every-billionaire-is-a-policy-failure/