Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Tuesday successfully completed an 11-minute trip into space onboard a rocket built by his company Blue Origin. Donning a blue suit and a cowboy hat, Bezos addressed a conference after his brief trip into space, during which he thanked the workers of Amazon for “paying” for his trip. However, the well-intended gratitude has failed to resonate with critics who have accused the billionaire of being “tone-deaf”.
“I want to thank every Amazon employee, and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all this,” the 57-year-old Bezos said during a news conference, after becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride in his own spacecraft. The statement immediately stirred a backlash on the internet as people pointed out reports claiming inhumane working conditions and lack of breaks that Amazon workers are forced to work under.
Former secretary of labour and a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, Robert Reich wrote that Bezos has crushed unionising attempts for decades. “Amazon workers don’t need Bezos to thank them. They need him to stop union-busting — and pay them what they deserve,” Reich said on Twitter.
Jeff Bezos has crushed unionizing attempts for decades.
Amazon workers don't need Bezos to thank them. They need him to stop union busting — and pay them what they deserve. https://t.co/HwHYibghHl
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) July 20, 2021
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also criticised Bezos saying, “Yes, Amazon workers did pay for this – with lower wages, union busting, a frenzied and inhumane workplace, and delivery drivers not having health insurance during a pandemic.” She also added, “Amazon customers are paying for it with Amazon abusing their market power to hurt small business.”
“Jeff Bezos forgot to thank all the hardworking Americans who actually paid taxes to keep this country running while he and Amazon paid nothing,” wrote US Senator Elizabeth Warren on the micro-blogging site.
“It’s time for Jeff Bezos to take care of business right here on Earth and pay his fair share in taxes,” she also said.
Meanwhile, Representative Earl Blumenauer, who is on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, proposed legislation that would tax space travel for non-scientific research purposes. “Space exploration isn’t a tax-free holiday for the wealthy,” said, adding, “We pay taxes on plane tickets. Billionaires flying into space—producing no scientific value—should do the same.”
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