The AOC criticizes the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, for underpaying Amazonian workers. Amazon says that she is "totally wrong"

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In an interview with ABC News, "This Week", the New York Democrat criticized Amazon, saying the low wages of workers contribute to Bezos status as the richest person in the world.
Amazon (AMZN) retorted in a tweet On Monday, the company pays a minimum wage of $ 15 and offers all the benefits in the first days of the employees' work. The company also said it had lobbied to raise the federal minimum wage.

In the interview with "This Week", Ocasio-Cortez said she did not care if Bezos was a billionaire if Amazon was paying a "living wage" to workers, as well as benefits such as the guarantee of health care.

"If that's the case and Jeff Bezos is still a billionaire, that's one thing," she said. But if Bezos' billionaire status is "justified in paying people starvation wages and depriving them of their ability to access health care," she said, it's a problem.

ABC News presenter Jonathan Karl asked Ocasio-Cortez if she thought that salaries are why Bezos is a billionaire. She "definitely thinks that's part of the equation," she said, adding that Bezos should pay more taxes and increase Amazon's benefits, including free fees. schooling and health care.

"These claims are absurd," Amazon said in a statement. "Amazon associates receive peak compensation starting at $ 15 at the time … Amazon pays in advance 95% of ongoing training costs as part of its Choice Program. career for associates wishing to pursue a highly sought-after career. "

The net worth of Bezos is about 117 billion dollars, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index. His huge fortune comes from about one-sixth of Amazon's stock, which has grown 962% since its public debut in 1997. Amazon has paid him an annual salary of only $ 81,840 since 1998 and he has not paid any. 39; never received a stock purchase bonus.
Amazon and Bezos are increasingly being watched by government authorities. Last week, Amazon responded to presidential hopeful Joe Biden about corporate taxation.

"I have nothing against Amazon, but no company making billions of dollars in profit should pay a lower tax rate than firefighters and teachers.We must reward work, not just wealth. ", tweeted the former vice president, connecting to a New York Times story about how Amazon got a discount on its corporate taxes in 2018.

Soon after, Amazon replied in a tweet.

"We have been paying $ 2.6 billion in corporate taxes since 2016. We pay every penny we owe. The tax laws designed by Congress encourage businesses to reinvest in the US economy. We have 200 billion investments since 2011 and 300,000 American jobs. Biden's complaint is w / the tax code, not Amazon. "

Amazon has publicly pushed the government to cut taxes. The company also avoided paying taxes on sales for years until its growing network of physical warehouses prompted it to turn around and collect them everywhere.
Last year, Amazon increased its minimum wage to $ 15 an hour for all US employees. He also said his public policy team would start lobbying for an increase in the federal minimum wage, which is $ 7.25 / hour since 2009.

– Lydia DePillis from Canadian Business contributed to this report.

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