Recently, TIME magazine announced that Tesla CEO Elon Musk was named "2021 Person of the Year" by Time magazine.
In response, Time magazine said that as the richest man in the world, he does not have a house, has recently been selling property, he has put satellites into orbit and used solar energy to serve thousands of households, he drives a car of his own making that requires no gasoline and hardly requires a driver. With a flick of his finger, the stock market soars or plummets, his every word is put on the lips of a large group of fans, and he dreams of colonizing Mars as he takes his business global.
At the same time, Time magazine also said that its annual person selection is not a recognition, but points out that "the people who have the greatest impact on this year, whether the impact is good or bad."
Still, Time magazine's approach has been sharply criticized in the United States.
Because in the United States, Musk has always been a controversial figure. For example, he opposes the "billionaire tax" that many people support. According to a ProPublica survey this year, Musk and the other super-rich increased their total wealth significantly between 2014 and 2018, but only paid a very low tax rate, compared with Musk himself's tax rate of only 3.27%.
While Musk pays taxes in accordance with the law, it also suggests that the U.S. tax system focuses on taxes on wage income and fails to successfully tax asset appreciation. Wages are the main source of income for most people in the United States, but this is not the case for the rich.
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter that Time magazine's selection highlights the need to reform the tax system and "ensure that the person of the year can really pay taxes, rather than going around in circles all the time." I don't know if you guys think it makes sense that Musk was named Person of the Year?