Poll Shows 45 Percent Of Republicans Support Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 70 Percent Marginal Tax Proposal
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has come under fire from Republicans and right-leaning media figures for her proposal to tax 70 percent of income over $10 million to fund progressive initiatives, but a new poll shows that the idea actually has support among self-identified Republicans.
The freshman Congresswoman has become a major political figure in just a few months in the spotlight since knocking off longtime Democrat Joseph Crowley in a primary and then winning a seat in the House of Representatives. Many on the right have taken aim at the 29-year-old Bronx native, especially after she proposed the idea to introduce a 70 percent marginal tax rate that would fund things like the Green New Deal, bringing sweeping investments in alternative energies.
It now seems those pundits may not have their finger on the pulse of the Republican Party after all. As a new Hill-HarrisX poll found, 45 percent of self-identified Republicans said they would support the idea to tax 70 percent of all income earned over $10 million.
This support comes despite a number of Ocasio-Cortez’s critics misrepresenting the idea — intentionally or not — to claim that she wants to tax 70 percent of all income. The Congresswoman has been vocal in shutting down her critics as week, including former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker after he tweeted a story about asking fifth graders if it would be fair for him to take $7 out of every $10 they made in allowance.
“Explaining marginal taxes to a far-right former Governor: Imagine if you did chores for abuela & she gave you $10. When you got home, you got to keep it, because it’s only $10,” she wrote on Twitter. “Then we taxed the billionaire in town because he’s making tons of money underpaying the townspeople.”
She has used Twitter to take on other critics as well, garnering a large following and even setting an all-time record for viewership on C-SPAN’s Twitter page.
In a new poll, even 45% of self-identified Republicans approved of @AOC's 70% top marginal tax rate https://t.co/f0EfyhCWWG
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) January 19, 2019
The proposal would create the revenue necessary to take on a number of progressive initiatives and meets one of the major criticism of other progressive like Bernie Sanders of what exactly they planned to pay for these ideas. While it was not entirely clear how much tax revenue Ocasio-Cortez’s 70 percent marginal rate proposal would bring, the idea seems to have traction among those calling for a more equitable tax rate for middle class Americans.
Though it appears to have wider acceptance across the political spectrum, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal has also drawn some pushback from some of the more moderate members of her own party, The Hill noted.
