AOC’s Tax the Rich Dress and Champagne Socialism

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez walked the Met Gala’s red carpet this year with a white dress and a “Tax the Rich” slogan plastered right on top. Although Cortez has certainly fought for this message her entire career with numerous propositions of wealth taxes, her teaming up with Aurora James for this dress seems to go against all that she had fought for.

Aurora James is a fashion designer and the owner of Brother Vellies, a fashion brand known for its promotions of African design practices and techniques. After debates erupted about her “Tax The Rich” dress, she had been accused of tax evasion and owning sweatshops.

According to the James’s Cultural Brokerage Agency, they currently have 3 open warrants totaling to almost 15,000 USD for failing to withhold income taxes from employees’ paychecks. Moreover, the IRS has also revealed that Brother Vellies’ parent company, which is also owned by James, owes 103,220 USD in tax. According to the publication, the liens indicated that the company had not sent employee payroll taxes. However, she seems to find no problem in profiting off of taxpayer’s money as her businesses have been receiving 41,666 USD in pandemic assistance. (The Post)

Before one could claim that she might’ve been a struggling small business owner, it’s worth mentioning that she bought a 1.6 million pad in Los Angeles back in September 2020, in the middle of a recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic. She also owns an Instagram page where she regularly flaunts her wealth and connections with celebrities from Hollywood to Morocco.

To add to the fire, ex-employees have recently come out to compare her businesses to sweatshops relying on heavily overworked and underpaid full-time employees.

“I experienced a lot of harassment when I worked for her” said an employee who was previously fired from the company.

“The work environment was so hostile that I was afraid to ask for my check.”

Champagne socialist is a term attributed to those who support socialism or socialist policies while enjoying an elitist lifestyle. Although we can’t fully attribute this term to AOC, it’s a very fitting description of Aurora James, who is the very embodiment of what socialists have been fighting against. However, one can wonder why she would be found in bed with the very people she has been criticizing her entire career. As leaders who are trusted by the masses and as one of the leaders of today’s socialist movement, it’s extremely disappointing to see them do the very thing they fiercely oppose.