Frank Clemente: Pandemic Wealth
on Wednesday, October 6, 2021Frank Clemente Money Quote saying the pandemic has made billionaires richer and the costs of the health crisis justifies tax reform to include that new wealth. Frank Clemente said:
“The unconscionable growth in billionaire wealth through the misery of the pandemic is the clearest case I can imagine for the progressive tax reform working its way through Congress” — Frank Clemente
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In this quote, Frank Clemente seems to be criticizing the vast increase in wealth amassed by billionaires during the COVID-19 pandemic, while many others struggled financially. Specifically:
- Clemente notes the “unconscionable growth” in billionaire fortunes that occurred alongside widespread “misery” caused by the pandemic and economic crisis.
- He argues this underscores the need for “progressive tax reform” currently being considered by Congress, which would likely involve higher tax rates on the very wealthy.
- Clemente’s view is that the circumstances of the pandemic, with suffering for most but windfall profits for some, represent the clearest case for implementing reforms that reduce wealth concentration at the top through tax policies.
The best interpretation is that Clemente believes the pandemic has exposed the flaws and inequities of an economic system that enabled a small number of billionaires to accumulate even greater riches while many struggled, making the current push for tax policies targeting the ultra-wealthy the most justified and necessary according to his perspective on the moral imperative for reforming the tax code in light of recent events and their exacerbation of inequality.