The American ideal of lifting oneself up “by your bootstraps” is “a joke,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said.
The comments from the controversial left-wing lawmaker came Wednesday during a congressional Oversight Committee hearing on the federal poverty level.
The self-described Democratic-Socialist, apparently believing most understand this expression literally, attempted proving them wrong.
"Ms. Hutchinson, I also want to thank you about bringing up the poverty draft and this idea of a bootstrap,” Rep. AOC told the committee. “You know, this idea and this metaphor of a bootstrap started off as a joke because it's a physical impossibility to lift yourself up by a bootstrap, by your shoelaces? It's physically impossible. The whole thing is a joke."
After Grabien circulated her comments, AOC reiterated her opposition to America’s “rags-to-riches” mythology.
“I see that the right is worked up that we pointed out the myth of bootstrapping when 60% of the wealth in this country is *inherited,*” she wrote. “Question for the GOP: Does starting a business with a 60 million dollar loan from your dad count as ‘bootstrapping?’ Does getting a $2 trillion dollar corporate handout from the GOP count as ‘bootstrapping?’
“Asking for a corrupt president & his friends,” she added.