Be careful what you wish for, Congresswoman.
On Thursday morning, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) asked social media for recommended resources on housing — prompting conservatives to respond with their favorite economics resources.
What are some of your favorite books / resources about housing?
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 10, 2022
Joel Berry — the managing editor of The Babylon Bee — suggested that the progressive lawmaker read “Basic Economics” and “Discrimination and Disparities” by economist Thomas Sowell.
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) February 10, 2022
— Joel Berry (@JoelWBerry) February 10, 2022
“Girl you better start at the ABCs,” offered Republican congressional candidate Lavern Spicer.
Girl you better start at the ABCs
— Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) February 10, 2022
Kasey Lovett — who serves as press secretary for Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) — pointed Ocasio-Cortez toward former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, who hails from southwest Detroit.
Former HUD Secretary @RealBenCarson is a great resource. https://t.co/Dcmr4LTsCD
— Kasey Lovett (@lovett_kasey) February 10, 2022
Earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez — a former bartender who now makes $174,000 as a member of the House of Representatives — griped that capitalism is “not a redeemable system.”
“I believe that in a broad sense because when we toss out these big words, capitalism, socialism, they get sensationalized,” AOC said during an interview with Yahoo Finance. “And people translate them into meaning things that perhaps they don’t mean. So to me, capitalism at its core, what we’re talking about when we talk about that, is the absolute pursuit of profit at all human, environmental, and social cost. That is what we’re really discussing.”
“And what we’re also discussing is the ability for a very small group of actual capitalists — and that is people who have so much money that their money makes money, and they don’t have to work. And they can control industry. They can control our energy sources,” she continued. “They can control our labor. They can control massive markets that they dictate and can capture governments. And they can essentially have power over the many. And to me that is not a redeemable system for us to be able to participate in for the prosperity and peace for the vast majority of people.”
In a recent speech on the House floor in December, Ocasio-Cortez described the record-breaking $1.73 trillion in national student loan debt as “ridiculous,” provoking further mockery from social media.
“I’m 32 years old now,” the lawmaker said. “I have over $17,000 in student loan debt, and I didn’t go to graduate school because I knew that getting another degree would drown me in debt that I would never be able to surpass. This is unacceptable.”
“Pay your own darn bills,” retorted Foundation for Economic Education policy correspondent Brad Polumbo.
Fellow “Squad” member Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) also recently said on the House floor that she, too, holds student loans: “I worked full time, Monday through Friday, and took weekend classes to get my law degree. And still, close to $200,000 in debt. And I still owe over $70,000 and most of it was interest.”