Tucker Carlson has taken on big tech giants like Amazon and Uber in a segment on his Fox News show in a segment that could have been delivered by Bernie Sanders, who was even name-checked in a tweet by the conservative host.
Carlson highlighted the number of workers for huge corporations who rely on welfare just to get by, despite the exorbitant wealth of the billionaire owners.
It is a message also pushed by left-wing Vermont Senator Sanders, tipped to be in the running again for the Democratic presidential candidacy in 2020, who has battled in recent days with Amazon over its treatment of workers.
"Jeff Bezos [Amazon's CEO] is the richest man in the world," Carlson tweeted Thursday night along with a clip of his show. "Many of his employees are so poor, you're paying their welfare benefits. And he's not the only tech billionaire offloading his payroll costs onto taxpayers. This is an indefensible scam. Why is only Bernie talking about it?"
In the segment, Carlson said: "Jeff Bezos isn't paying his workers enough to eat, so you made up the difference with your tax dollars. Next time you see Jeff Bezos, make certain that he says thank you."
Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. Many of his employees are so poor, you’re paying their welfare benefits. And he’s not the only tech billionaire offloading his payroll costs onto taxpayers. This is an indefensible scam. Why is only Bernie talking about it? pic.twitter.com/PdXBfQsHsq
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 31, 2018
On ride-hailing service Uber and its billionaire founder Travis Kalanick, Carlson said: "One recent study found that many Uber drivers lose money working for the company. That's not a sustainable business model.
"The only reason it continues is because of your generosity. Because you're paying the welfare benefits for Uber's impoverished drivers, child billionaires like Travis get to keep buying bigger houses and more airplanes. He's someone else who owes you a thank you note."
Carlson concluded: "If you can think of a less fair system than this, send us an email, we'd love to hear about it. This system is indefensible. And yet, almost nobody ever complains about it. How come? Well, conservatives like us support the free market and for good reason; the free market works. But there's nothing free about this market.
"A lot of these companies operate as monopolies. They hate markets. They use government regulation to crush competition. There's nothing conservative about that, just as there is nothing conservative about most big corporations."
Sanders has attacked what he calls "corporate welfare," meaning middle-class Americans subsidizing corporations by funding welfare support for workers not paid a living wage by their employers.
"Billionaires shouldn't be on welfare," Sanders tweeted. "If the owners of large, profitable corporations won't pay workers a living wage, then we are going to tax them for 100% of the public assistance benefits their workers are forced to rely on."
In a statement, Amazon accused Sanders of making "inaccurate and misleading accusations."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shane Croucher is a Senior Editor based in London, UK. He oversees the My Turn team. He has previously overseen ... Read more
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