This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
July 17, 2019
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's senior counsel and policy adviser, Dan Riffle, has been vocal about his disdain for billionaire philanthropy. In fact, his Twitter profile lists 'every billionaire is a policy failure' as his name, a slogan popularized by Ocasio-Cortez.
Riffle told Vox that he came up with the slogan after seeing the popularity of the #abolishICE movement. He wanted to draw attention to wealth and income inequality, which he believes is the most pressing issue in the country.
According to Riffle, when billionaires accumulate massive personal fortunes, it leaves fewer resources for the rest of the population. While he applauds the philanthropic work of billionaires like George Soros and Charles Koch, he believes that it is inefficient and undemocratic for billionaires to use philanthropy to decide how to solve the world's problems.
"The idea that Bill Gates is the one guy who should be out there curing malaria is ludicrous to me," Riffle said in an interview with Vox. "Why should a guy who has expertise in software and taking maximum advantage of patent laws be the guy in charge of curing malaria?"
Riffle believes that the government should tax income over $5 million at 99 percent, and that the government should be responsible for distributing resources to address wealth inequality.
Only 20% of Americans agree with Riffle that 'every billionaire is a policy failure,' according to a Huffington Post/YouGov poll. However, his ideas may have some support among ultra-wealthy Americans, as 19 multimillionaires and billionaires signed a letter asking presidential candidates to consider a wealth tax on the 1%.
