In an interview on NPR’s “Morning Edition” last week, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz criticized a proposal from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to raise taxes on the super wealthy as ridiculous.
“Free Medicare for all, government-paid, free college for all — first of all, there’s no free. I mean nothing is free,” he said, adding that while he sees the need for "comprehensive tax reform," Warren's "ridiculous plan of taxing wealthy people a surtax of 2 percent because it makes a good headline or sends out a tweet when she knows for a fact that's not something that’s ever gonna be passed, this is what's wrong."
“You can’t just attack these things in a punitive way by punishing people," he concluded.
But a new poll from Morning Consult shows that the majority of Americans support a wealth tax by a 60-21 margin, a number that includes majority support from Republican voters. Americans also support raising the marginal tax rate back up to 70 percent, as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has suggested.
Warren shared the poll results with her social media following––and took a direct shot at Schultz.
"Dear Howard Schultz: if you're looking for bold ideas with broad bipartisan appeal for your 'centrist' presidential campaign, may I suggest my #UltramillionaireTax?" she tweeted, noting how the tax would provide avenues for such initiatives as student debt relief and health care.
Americans "don't want to replace a self-absorbed billionaire President with another one," she said. "Americans want real change. We should listen."
Many concurred with Warren's sentiments.
Schultz, who has a net worth of roughly $3 billion, would likely be subject to the proposed wealth tax.
Since Schultz announced he would consider running for president, liberal voters have assailed him, saying he could potentially split the Democratic vote and guarantee President Donald Trump a win in 2020.
Schultz was in the news last week after he claimed Senator Warren once asked him for a campaign contribution and that he turned her down, fearing that her policies would lead the U.S. down a path to “socialism.”
Last Tuesday, Schultz said the health plan proposed by Harris––she’s running on a “Medicare for All” platform––would spell the end of private health insurance.
“That’s not correct, that’s not American. What’s next? What industry are we going to abolish next? The coffee industry?” asked Schultz on Tuesday during an appearance on “CBS This Morning.”
“I don’t agree with that,” he continued. “The Affordable Care Act should stay and it should be refined. But the thing we should get rid of is the insurance industry? Again, this is exactly the situation ― it’s far too extreme on both sides and the silent majority of America does not have a voice.”
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter