Peter Pref

Caleb Hammer has a “What in the world?” moment when he realizes his 34-year-old leftist guest is arguing that her town would be better off without jobs. It started when she claimed billionaires and corporations don’t pay their “fair share.” Then she brought up Amazon, and Hammer realized he was dealing with someone who is “f*cking BROKEN.” LEFTIST: “But why are we giving tax returns to corporations?” HAMMER: “Tax returns? What are you talking about, tax returns? You’re talking about where they spend more money than they make on paper, so they have to pay less taxes because they’re employing people, investing in R&D and new technology. “They can pack up and move just like anyone else. They’ll go to Ireland for the corporate HQ. We don’t want that. You want to pull a UK where they all go to Dubai? No, thank you. I like when they’re here. There are consequences to performative policies.” LEFTIST: “There are like Fortune 100 companies that have gotten tax money back from—” HAMMER: “What kind of tax? What kind of tax?” LEFTIST: “Chase Bank got a tax return. [...] I know like Amazon paid zero dollars in corporate—” HAMMER: “Well, hold on. But that was because they spent more than they made for the longest time. They weren’t a profitable company until recent years. You know that, right? Are you saying companies should have to pay taxes on money when they’re not profitable? “So, me as a business, let’s say we make a million dollars this year. If I spend a million 100,000, I should pay taxes on my lost money?” LEFTIST: “No, if you’re—” HAMMER: “Hold on. That was Amazon. That was also one of the biggest employers in, not with bad wages either, the entire country. You want to punish them?” LEFTIST: “Not punish them, but I don’t think they should be getting—” HAMMER: “What do you want to be, AOC, and prevent a brand new campus coming to New York with thousands of new jobs?” LEFTIST: “There are like eight Amazon warehouses within driving distance of me. And they don’t do anything to better the community.” HAMMER: “You know a lot of people work there, right? That’s benefiting your community. Those people put money into your system.” LEFTIST: “That two-lane road [traffic] wouldn’t be a problem if Amazon wasn’t there.” HAMMER: “This is actually impressive. I’ve never witnessed someone so far left that they’re actually advocating for degrowth policies. [...] They pay taxes, property taxes, which those warehouses certainly do. And income taxes and whatnot, paid to the state, redistributed to the city in the state of California thanks to their new jobs. It’s your city’s fault for not allocating the resources properly. Advocate for that. “You went and advocated for a DEGROWTH POLICY. That’s one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard in my life.” Something tells me this beatdown will replay in her head the next time she blames Amazon instead of the government for the roads.