OPINION:
The just-named “Time Person of the Year” Elon Musk told Sen. Elizabeth Warren to stop acting like a kid’s “angry mom” after she called him a “freeloader” for paying low taxes despite his billionaire status.
Sorry, but this round goes to Musk.
He may be facing some tax issues — and that’s putting it lightly. But for pure humor at hitting back one of Congress’ most annoying, Democrat-progressive-in-name-but-socialist-in-deed senators, Musk scores for the win.
It began when Time selected Musk for the magazine’s “Person of the Year” honor, and Warren took to Twitter to snark, “Let’s change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.”
Freeloading is rather harsh.
On one hand, ProPublica reported in June that Musk, with a net worth now of more than $290 billion, paid $68,000 in federal income taxes in 2015; about $65,000 in 2017 and zero in 2018. That, plus this November headline from CNBC — “Elon Musk Faces a $15 billion tax bill, which is likely the real reason he’s selling stock” — would seem a dunk for Warren; a slam-dunk even, if you’re a corporate-hating Democrat type.
But then Musk took to Twitter himself. And the results were hilarious.
To Warren, he wrote: “You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend’s angry Mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason.”
And this: “Please don’t call the manager on me, Senator Karen.” That one contained an emoji of prayer hands.
But really, the bigger win for Musk is this: the number of jobs he’s provided through the years.
In 2016, Green Tech Media wrote, “Elon Musk Has Created 35,000 Jobs.”
In March, BusinessInsider wrote, “SpaceX Has Nearly 10,000 Employees As It Ramps up Its Starlink rollout.”
In September, InsideEVs published this, from EVANNEX: “Musk currently employs about 110,000 people across all his different companies around the globe.”
All those employees pay taxes.
All those hundreds and thousands and more than 100,000 employees pay taxes.
Another way of saying that: All those thousands of employees pay the tax dollars that pay Sen. Warren her salary — that put food on Sen. Warren’s table — that house and clothe and transport Sen. Warren — that allow Sen. Warren to then climb her high horse and scold Musk for not paying as much in taxes as she would like, as she deems fair.
Musk gives into the system. Warren takes from the system. Who’s the one who really owes the system?
Not even close. It’s Team Musk, for the win.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Socialists Don’t Sleep: Christians Must Rise Or America Will Fall,” is available by clicking HERE.
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