Opinion| New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent out a series of tweets on Tuesday evening.
The Tweets were an attempt to defend her position against Amazon, celebrating the company nixing its plan to build a new headquarters in NYC, which would have created 25,000 new jobs in addition to almost $30 billion in tax revenues to New York State.
The Daily Wire reports of Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter tirade:
The defensive thread was prompted by criticism from Crain’s New York Business editor Erik Engquist, who said that while he usually defends the democratic socialist congresswoman as intelligent, her troubling comments about the state “invest[ing] those $3 billion” instead of supposedly giving it to Amazon has left him speechless.
The Democratic freshman congresswoman stated last week, “If we were willing to give away $3 billion for this deal, we could invest those $3 billion in our district ourselves, if we wanted to. We could hire out more teachers. We can fix our subways. We can put a lot of people to work for that money, if we wanted to.”
I’ve been telling @AOC critics that she is smart, but what do I say when she says nonsense like “we could invest those $3 billion in [@amazon tax breaks] in our district. We could hire more teachers. We can fix our subways, we can put a lot of people to work for that money”
— Erik Engquist (@erik_engquist) February 19, 2019
“I’ve been telling @AOC critics that she is smart, but what do I say when she says nonsense like ‘we could invest those $3 billion in [@amazon tax breaks] in our district. We could hire more teachers. We can fix our subways, we can put a lot of people to work for that money,'” tweeted Engquist.
Ocasio-Cortez’s response was quite defensive. “Not sure how many pundits talking about Amazon even read the deal or where it was going. $500+ million of the deal was *capital grants.* $2.5 billion in tax breaks. It’s fair to ask why we don’t invest the capital for public use, + why we don’t give working people a tax break,” she stated through a series of tweets.
Not sure how many pundits talking about Amazon even read the deal or where it was going.
$500+ million of the deal was *capital grants.*
$2.5 billion in tax breaks.
It’s fair to ask why we don’t invest the capital for public use, + why we don’t give working people a tax break. https://t.co/jUqaugUHYP
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 19, 2019
“Frankly, the knee-jerk reaction assuming that I ‘don’t understand’ how tax giveaways to corps work is disappointing. No, it’s not possible that I could come to a different conclusion. The debate *must* be over my intelligence & understanding, instead of the merits of the deal,“ the freshman congresswoman wrote.
Frankly, the knee-jerk reaction assuming that I “don’t understand” how tax giveaways to corps work is disappointing.
No, it’s not possible that I could come to a different conclusion. The debate *must* be over my intelligence & understanding, instead of the merits of the deal.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 19, 2019
“There’s NO WAY that this deal – one of the biggest giveaways in state history – could possibly have been bad, right? Surely there can’t be anything wrong with suddenly announcing a massive restructuring & pricing out of a community without any advance notice or input from them,” she sarcastically tweeted.
There’s NO WAY that this deal – one of the biggest giveaways in state history – could possibly have been bad, right?
Surely there can’t be anything wrong with suddenly announcing a massive restructuring & pricing out of a community without any advance notice or input from them.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 19, 2019
“There’s no CHANCE that the speculative insider real-estate buys that were creating immediate spikes in rent in one of the most rent-burdened communities in NYC could have possibly been unpopular?” she continued, linking to a Business Insider article.
There’s no CHANCE that the speculative insider real-estate buys that were creating immediate spikes in rent in one of the most rent-burdened communities in NYC could have possibly been unpopular?https://t.co/wArbA7B1Q6
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 19, 2019
“Or that a technology giant of big-brother-esque potential was selling (notoriously flawed & racially biased) facial recognition technology to ICE while trying to move into 1 of the most immigrant-dense areas of the world?” she wrote in another tweet, attaching a link to a Washington Post article. “No, it must be because I’m dumb.”
She finished off her Twitter tirade, clearly getting defensive, seemingly out of an intense sense of insecurity, “Folks handling the failed deal treated community w/condescension+disdain for their legitimate concerns. I warned early to any & all that surging NYC costs+failing subways are creating major political forces to be reckoned with. But I don’t know what I’m talking about, right?”
Folks handling the failed deal treated community w/condescension+disdain for their legitimate concerns.
I warned early to any & all that surging NYC costs+failing subways are creating major political forces to be reckoned with.
But I don’t know what I’m talking about, right?🤷🏽♀️
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 20, 2019
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wasn’t happy with Ocasio-Cortez. He condemned what he called “a small group of politicians” who “put their own narrow political interests above their community — which poll after poll showed overwhelmingly supported bringing Amazon to Long Island City — the state’s economic future and the best interests of the people of this state.”
“The New York State Senate has done tremendous damage,” Cuomo stated on Thursday. “They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity.” Read the full statement below:
Amazon chose to come to New York because we are the capital of the world and the best place to do business. We competed in and won the most hotly contested national economic development competition in the United States, resulting in at least 25,000-40,000 good paying jobs for our state and nearly $30 billion dollars in new revenue to fund transit improvements, new housing, schools and countless other quality of life improvements. Bringing Amazon to New York diversified our economy away from real estate and Wall Street, further cementing our status as an emerging center for tech and was an extraordinary economic win not just for Queens and New York City, but for the entire region, from Long Island to Albany’s nanotech center.
However, a small group of politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community — which poll after poll showed overwhelmingly supported bringing Amazon to Long Island City — the state’s economic future and the best interests of the people of this state. The New York State Senate has done tremendous damage. They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity.
The fundamentals of New York’s business climate and community that attracted Amazon to be here – our talent pool, world-class education system, commitment to diversity and progressivism – remain and we won’t be deterred as we continue to attract world class business to communities across New York State.
Ocasio-Cortez, in my estimation , is miles out of her depth and she is slowly starting to realize. She’s starting to see that she is not going to be allowed to get away with absurd and ignorant, pie in the sky, middle school level ideas without being questioned as to what on God’s green Earth she is talking about.
