Assata Shakur: Tax-Free Profits
on Monday, February 5, 2024Meaning Assata Shakur Corporations tax-free profits politicians cut food stamps salaries City bankruptcy, dollars spent spend millions arms close day care centers fire stations. Assata Shakur said:
“While big corporations make huge, tax-free profits, taxes for the everyday working person skyrocket. While politicians take free trips around the world, those same politicians cut back food stamps for the poor. While politicians increase their salaries, millions of people are being laid off. This city is on the brink of bankruptcy, and yet hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent on this trial. I do not understand a government so willing to spend millions of dollars on arms, to explore outer space, even the planet Jupiter, and at the same time close down day care centers and fire stations” — Assata Shakur
Assata Shakur was criticizing the priorities of the U.S. government in this quote. She points out that while large corporations and politicians benefit financially, everyday working people face increasing taxes and cuts to social services.
At the same time, the government spends vast sums on military weapons, space exploration, and other projects seen as less essential than programs that directly help citizens, like day care centers and fire stations.
The overall interpretation is that the government favors powerful corporate and political interests over the needs of ordinary citizens, especially the poor and vulnerable. Shakur saw this as unjust and “did not understand” the logic of a system with such skewed priorities.