MAY 17, 2022
Musk and Bezos Agree on Who Is Responsible for Inflation. – TheStreet
It’s rare to see Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos agree on things.
The former is the richest man in the world with an estimated fortune of $213 billion as of May 16, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
The second is the second richest man on the planet. His fortune is estimated at $135 billion.
Musk and Bezos clash in particular in the conquest of space via their respective companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The two men also have so far had different styles. Musk is a brawler and a go-getter. Nothing animates him but to provoke controversies. He answers tit for tat and does not back down from any opponent. In addition, Musk loves to fight his fights in public, on the social network Twitter which he is also in the process of acquiring.
Bezos was known for his discretion and very rarely displayed his opinions. The founder of Amazon has often ignored the attacks of politicians, in particular ex-president Donald Trump who had made Bezos and Amazon his favorite targets.
The Two Billionaires Agree Now on Different Topics
But recently, the two tech tycoons seem to have put aside their differences and their bickering on important topics. Last month, they agreed, as we reported, on a private sector solution to help solve San Francisco’s homeless problem.
“Convert Twitter SF HQ to homeless shelter since no one shows up anyway,” Bezos tweeted to Musk on April April 9. He referred to a similar solution Amazon implemented in Seattle.
“Great idea,” Musk responded.
Bezos has since become a bit more active on Twitter and seems to be copying Musk. Indeed, the mogul has been interacting for a few days with his 4.3 million followers and gives his opinion on various subjects. Above all, he has become more combative in the face of politicians and in particular President Joe Biden, whom he has not stopped criticizing in recent days.
“The newly created Disinformation Board should review this tweet, or maybe they need to form a new Non Sequitur Board instead,” Bezos commented after Biden said on May 13 that to bring down inflation wealthiest corporations should pay their fare share.
“Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection,” Bezos added.
The next day, Bezos criticized the Biden administration as the president sought to take credit for deficit reduction. The former Amazon boss couldn’t swallow this and pointed out that Democrats were trying to pump more stimulus into the economy as prices soared.
“In fact, the administration tried hard to inject even more stimulus into an already over-heated, inflationary economy and only Manchin saved them from themselves. Inflation is a regressive tax that most hurts the least affluent. Misdirection doesn’t help the country,” Bezos wrote on May 15.
The Government Is the Problem
Bezos doesn’t seem to want to stop anymore. He seems to like this new Biden opponent suit that Musk also likes to wear. While consumers are still faced with inflation at its highest for more than 40 years, the two billionaires have just identified a culprit.
For Musk and Bezos, it was the stimulus to help consumers at the time of the pandemic that caused the inflation. Basically, the responsible culprit for the surge of your recent grocery store receipts is the federal government.
“Look, a squirrel! This is the White House’s statement about my recent tweets. They understandably want to muddy the topic,” Bezos attacked on May 16. “They know inflation hurts the neediest the most. But unions aren’t causing inflation and neither are wealthy people.”
“Remember the Administration tried their best to add another $3.5 TRILLION to federal spending. They failed, but if they had succeeded, inflation would be even higher than it is today, and inflation today is at a 40 year high.”
Asked hours later about Bezos’ criticism, Musk seemed to agree with his billionaire peer.
“The honest reason inflation is that the government printed a zillion amount of more money than it had,” the serial entrepreneur said during a video appearance at the All-In Summit in Miami Beach, according to a video posted on Twitter.
“I think @JeffBezos is mostly wrong in his recent attack on the @JoeBiden Admin. It is perfectly reasonable to believe, as I do and @POTUS asserts, that we should raise taxes to reduce demand to contain inflation and that the increases should be as progressive as possible,” former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, now a Harvard professor, commented. Summers has been warning about the increasing risk of recession.
Musk and Bezos have in common that they are involved in two companies — Tesla and Amazon — that are anti-union. But the Biden administration is pushing for a revival of unionism in big companies and thus supporting employees who try to form unions.
