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Socialist Hypocrisy: Ocasio-Cortez Forgot to Protect Her Workers

Defender of the working class, champion for higher minimum wages, and forgetful politician who didn’t pay workers’ compensation during her 2018 congressional campaign: Folks, I give you Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known by the nickname AOC. The new politician was fined by the state of New York for not providing coverage for her workers for a month.

“The employer did not have the required workers’ compensation coverage from March 31, 2018, to April 30, 2018, and was issued a final penalty of $1,500, which was paid,” state Workers Compensation Board spokeswoman Melissa Stewart said. “This coverage is vital to ensuring workers are protected for on-the-job injuries.”

“Hypocrisy at its finest,” Jessica Proud, GOP spokeswoman said. “The so-called champion of workers, when given her own responsibility, is not following the law. It’s unbelievable.”

Economically Illiterate

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

So far, AOC has not commented on the oversight, but one can’t help but wonder if she will play the innocent and claim she didn’t know any better. Will she say that she shouldn’t be criticized because this was her first political campaign, as Liberty Nation’s Andrew Moran reported she had when challenged to a debate by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro?

It’s no secret the political debutante lacks a certain knowledge or understanding of business, despite her bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations. She “appears utterly oblivious to how the economy and the government works,” LN’s James Fite wrote. She also thought the government paid for tax cuts, so why should anyone be surprised that she apparently forgot to make sure workers’ compensation was paid?

AOC and Minimum Wage

Ocasio-Cortez has shown her ignorance of economics time and again. When the restaurant where she formally worked closed, she mourned the loss, not even realizing that the minimum wage hike she champions was responsible for 150 people, former co-workers, losing their jobs. “The restaurant I used to work at is closing its doors,” she said in a tweet. “I swung by today to say hi one last time, and kid around with friends like old times.”

When television host Trevor Noah questioned Ocasio-Cortez on the feasibility of a $15 national minimum wage and if it would stifle growth, she had these pearls of wisdom in response: “Raising the minimum wage to a living wage will expand the economy. It will create wealth in our economy. And it will increase economic activity in this country.”

She also said that 40% of the country, or about 200 million Americans, make less than $20,000 a year. Fact check, according to Investor’s Business Daily: “The total number of working age people in the country today is 257 million people. And that includes retirees. The idea that 200 million make less than $20,000 is farcical.” The website further explained that, “the median household income is around $57,000. That means half of households make more than that.”

Out of which hat does AOC pull her facts?

She cited Seattle, WA as a desirable example after they raised the minimum wage. At the second installment of hikes, which increased the wage to $13 an hour, the average worker saw a decline in their pay. “The math is not favorable: The average low-wage employee in the city saw his or her earnings decline by $125 a month last year due to the ‘generous’ minimum wage increase,” Investor’s Business Daily said.

So, how does AOC’s former company feel about her push for higher minimum wages? “The times have changed in our industry,” one of the diner’s co-owners, Charles Milite, told the New York Post around the time the business closed its doors after 28 years in the city’s food scene. “The rents are very high and now the minimum wage is going up and we have a huge number of employees.”

Employment Policies Institute Managing Director Michael Saltsman, speaking to the Washington Free Beacon, added:

“Ocasio-Cortez’s desired ‘living wage’ of $15 an hour has been a living hell for many small business owners in New York, who’ve been unable to offset the cost through higher prices … It’s fine to mourn the impending closure of your former employer — it’s better to understand the misguided minimum-wage mandates that contributed to that closure.”

And there you have it: another uninformed politician in control of our monies and policies. A woman who claims to be all about the average American worker, but can’t even make sure her own employees are protected.

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