Bezos taxed like a gig worker—Congress set the rules

billionaires borrowing – For nearly 30 years, Jeff Bezos has reported an $82,000 salary and claimed the child tax credit despite being worth more than $250 billion. The piece ties that outcome to a tax code that allows billionaires to borrow against wealth without paying federal incom

When Jeff Bezos filed his taxes for the better part of three decades. the number looked almost ordinary: an annual salary of $82. 000. It was low enough for him to claim the child tax credit. The catch—reported in the same breath as his staggering wealth—has long fueled the same question among workers: how can someone worth nearly $300 billion end up with a tax bill that feels built for the middle class?.

A column by U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman, a Democrat who represents Ohio’s 1st Congressional House District and is a former Cincinnati councilman, argues that the answer sits inside Congress’s choices—choices that also shape the country’s finances and, ultimately, who gets protected when budgets tighten.

Landsman points to a tax setup that he says lets the super wealthy borrow against their wealth instead of selling assets for income. That borrowing. he argues. puts money into personal bank accounts without triggering federal taxes—“nothing to Social Security. ” “nothing for Medicare. ” and “nothing to our national defense.” In his framing. the system is not just unfair; it’s designed in a way that keeps the tax code from responding to extreme wealth.

He ties that argument to a broader fiscal package Congress approved in 2025: a budget resolution authorizing $4.5 trillion in tax cuts through 2034. with most of the cuts aimed at the super wealthy and big corporations. Landsman says Republicans added trillions to the debt to pay for it and cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid.

The human impact is described in stark terms: about 15 million Americans could lose health care, including 500,000 Ohioans.

Landsman draws a comparison between the tax cut categories. He says the middle-class tax cuts President Donald Trump touted in his spending bill were small compared with what lawmakers gave the rich. He argues that middle-class cuts could have been fully covered by raising taxes only slightly on the richest Americans. but Congress did not do that. In his view. that choice reflects a “dangerous pattern” of paying for wealthy tax cuts with debt and by cutting investments for working people.

He also underscores the scale of the debt burden. He writes that taxpayers are spending about $1 trillion a year on debt-related interest payments. He pairs that figure with what else could be funded with $1 trillion—cutting middle-class taxes. expanding health care. building more housing. providing rent relief. increasing teacher pay. paving more roads. and hiring more police officers and firefighters.

He connects the debt issue to national security and governance, noting that foreign governments own a lot of U.S. debt, creating “incredibly vulnerable” leverage for other countries. He also links budget stress to public anger at government.

On the effort side of the ledger. Landsman argues that waste and abuse are already documented through the Government Accountability Office. He points to a recent claim about results: for 2025. GAO recommendations implemented led to $62.7 billion in new savings for the federal government. He says the GAO made more than 1. 800 recommendations. and that he has told House leaders to vote every day to implement GAO recommendations to save taxpayer dollars. Even so, he argues those savings wouldn’t come close to covering the annual $2 trillion deficit.

The tax story returns to individuals with figures he emphasizes as representative of how the code works. He says Jeff Bezos. worth more than $250 billion. reported an $82. 000 salary for nearly 30 years and used it to claim the child tax credit. He also argues that most billionaires do little to help fund Social Security or Medicare through income or payroll taxes.

He brings in Elon Musk as another example, saying Musk is about to become the world’s first trillionaire and has avoided paying any federal income taxes or payroll taxes. Landsman adds that Tesla paid nothing in federal corporate taxes in 2025.

Taken together, the column portrays a tax structure where the wealthy can keep taxes low through borrowing and other mechanisms, while many households carry more of the burden.

Landsman frames the system as the reason the tax code is “no longer progressive” and that the country is “going broke.” He provides a brief history of how revenue policy shifted: tariffs dominated early federal funding; the modern income tax was adopted in 1913; the estate tax arrived in 1916. In that telling. those taxes initially targeted the wealthiest Americans. while working Americans were largely not taxed. helping finance World War I and World War II and producing what he calls the largest middle class in American history until the 1980s.

He then points to the 1980s shift. describing presidents and Congress as spending enormous sums on tax cuts for the top 1% and big corporations. He says the tax rate for top earners was 70% in the 1970s and is 37% now. He also says corporate rates fell from nearly 50% to 21%. He adds that lawmakers created loopholes allowing super wealthy individuals and big corporations to pay little to no taxes. while working people and the middle class continued to pay too much.

He argues Congress has a choice. In his view, lawmakers can either fix the tax code or accept deficit spending and watch critical investments—health care, housing, and education—get cut as the politics of budgets tighten and public trust erodes.

He calls for stopping “spending trillions on tax cuts for the super wealthy and big corporations. ” arguing that changing the tax code would end deficit spending. balance the budget. and allow more investment in working Americans. Landsman predicts working families would do better. the economy would grow. and the country would become “infinitely more united. ” with tax reform enabling other reforms.

For readers trying to connect personal tax figures to national budget choices. the column’s throughline is hard to miss: the debate over who pays taxes is not abstract. It’s tied to the $82. 000 salary reported by Bezos over decades. to the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts Congress authorized through 2034 in 2025. to nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. and to consequences that could reach 500. 000 Ohioans. And in that collision of policy and lived outcomes. Landsman argues the stakes are not just budget math—they’re the direction of American life.

Jeff Bezos tax code billionaires child tax credit national debt Medicaid cuts Ohio healthcare Greg Landsman Tesla taxes Elon Musk taxes GAO savings federal tax policy