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Financial Big Wig Risks Ticking Off Clients, Goes Off on 'Financially Illiterate' AOC

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A number of prominent Democrats paid homage to noted race-baiter and conman Al Sharpton during a recent event for his National Action Network organization, and that included a speech from the party’s new self-proclaimed “boss,” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Ocasio-Cortez drew criticism over her speech due to an odd accent she adopted while speaking to the predominately black audience, which came across as pandering and condescending, but she also received criticism during and following the event for a more substantial reason than the soft bigotry of low expectations.

The New York Post first reported that Ocasio-Cortez had been called out at that same event during a panel discussion for being “financially illiterate” by a finance and investment officer on Wall Street. The remark was in regard to her spearheading the activist effort to kill the proposed deal that would see Amazon build a headquarters in New York City.

During a panel discussion titled “The Black Economic Agenda: Driving Capital into the Hands of Black Asset managers and Housing Developers,” the issue of the canceled Amazon deal came up for debate.

One of the panelists, named Tracy Maitland, president and chief investment officer of Advent Capital Management, said, “The people campaigning against the Amazon campus are financially illiterate.”

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A fellow panelist, City University of New York chairman Bill Thompson, seemed to agree with Maitland’s take and pointed out that minorities in the city and at the school were hardest hit by the killed deal that “snatched away” thousands of good-paying jobs.

“We were at the table talking to Amazon on how students could get jobs … those opportunities were snatched away,” Thompson said. “Those students look like us … We’re talking thousands of high-paying jobs. It was a disappointment from a CUNY perspective.”

Following the conclusion of the event, Maitland expanded on his thoughts to the Post and said, “This was a disgrace. I partially blame AOC for the loss of Amazon. She doesn’t know what she doesn’t know. That’s scary. We have to make sure she’s better educated or vote her out of office.”

Maitland took particular exception to the false manner in which Ocasio-Cortez and others had mischaracterized — either purposely or out of ignorance — the $3 billion in tax credits that had been offered to Amazon in exchange for the company building a headquarters in Queens.

Ocasio-Cortez had strongly implied that the city and state were handing more than $3 billion in taxpayer money to Amazon, rather than what had actually been offered: Amazon would be able to keep more of the money it otherwise would have paid in taxes, in exchange for the creation of approximately 25,000 jobs that would have brought in an estimated $30 billion in additional tax revenue.

It was obvious from her false portrayal of the offered tax credits that Ocasio-Cortez is far from an economics whiz and is indeed “financially illiterate,” but that certainly hasn’t been the only example of her arrogant ignorance when it comes to financial matters.

The Daily Wire pointed out that Ocasio-Cortez is the “brains” behind the ludicrous Green New Deal proposal, a socialist government takeover of virtually the entirety of the economy masked by environmental and climate change-related concerns that has an estimated price tag of $93 trillion.

She has also expressed support for the costly Medicare for All single-payer, government-run socialized health care proposals, among other pricey schemes. On top of that, she has come under fire for potential campaign finance violations that were alleged to have occurred during her surprising 2018 election.

All of that, on top of her repeated cries of racism and sexism and tendency to play the victim in the face of any criticism, has led to rather dismal approval numbers for the freshman congresswoman, who seems to become a little more unpopular each time she speaks.

Do you agree that Ocasio-Cortez is 'financially illiterate?'
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Maitland was correct in labeling Ocasio-Cortez as being “financially illiterate” — which is ironic, given the congresswoman’s claims of holding a degree in economics — but Maitland didn’t quite go far enough. More concerning than Ocasio-Cortez’s economic ignorance is her arrogance and avowed leftism that eschews facts and fundamentals of economics in favor of Marxist socialism and racialized social justice that would tear this country apart if fully acted upon and implemented.

We agree that she desperately needs either a better education — unlikely at this point in time — or to be voted out of office at the next election by the constituents she has been ignoring while soaking up the spotlight on the national stage.

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Ben Marquis is a writer who identifies as a constitutional conservative/libertarian. He has written about current events and politics for The Western Journal since 2014. His focus is on protecting the First and Second Amendments.
Ben Marquis has written on current events and politics for The Western Journal since 2014. He reads voraciously and writes about the news of the day from a conservative-libertarian perspective. He is an advocate for a more constitutional government and a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, which protects the rest of our natural rights. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the love of his life as well as four dogs and four cats.
Birthplace
Louisiana
Nationality
American
Education
The School of Life
Location
Little Rock, Arkansas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics




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