Elizabeth Warren Rips Billionaires' 'Free Ride. . . All The Way To Outer Space' On William Shatner's Launch Day
BOSTON (CBS) -- William Shatner became the oldest person in space on Wednesday, when the 90-year-old actor who played Captain Kirk blasted off aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket. It was an exciting day for "Star Trek" fans - but Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts used the moment to share a different message about the new age of space travel.
The one-time presidential candidate took to social media with a familiar mantra: The ultra-rich are getting away with paying too little in taxes as they set their sights on the final frontier.
"Giant corporations and billionaires have had a free ride for far too long. Sometimes they take that ride all the way to outer space," Warren wrote. "They need to start paying their fair share."
Giant corporations and billionaires have had a free ride for far too long. Sometimes they take that ride all the way to outer space. They need to start paying their fair share.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 13, 2021
Warren had also criticized Bezos, the founder of Amazon, on the day he went to space in July.
"It's time for Jeff Bezos to take care of business right here on Earth and pay his fair share in taxes," she tweeted at the time.
Prior to the Bezos trip, she told TMZ that the billionaire was "laughing at every person in America who actually pays taxes."
A watchdog group this month said that Amazon has secured $4.1 billion in tax breaks since 2000.
Shatner and three crewmates, two of whom were paying customers, reached the edge of space via Bezos' hydrogen-fueled rocket, more than 62 miles high. They experienced about three to four minutes of weightlessness.
After landing, Shatner said that his 10-minute trip to space was "so moving to me" and "unbelievable." He said Bezos had given him the most profound experience imaginable.
"I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened. . . it's extraordinary," he told Bezos.