Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has an issue with people framing her left-wing proposals as giving away “free stuff.”

The Democratic socialist of New York, who argues that housing, health care and higher education are human rights, said at a Bronx town hall over the weekend that her proposals constitute “public goods.”

“It’s not that we deserve it because it’s a handout. People like to say, ‘Oh, this is about free stuff.’ This is not about free stuff,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said, the Washington Examiner reported.

“These are public goods. They’re public goods. So I never want to hear the word or the term ‘free stuff’ ever again,” she continued, “because I’m tired of already hearing some of these neoliberal folks who are trying to flip the script on us. Like when we’re talking about tuition-free public college or when we talk about public housing they say, ‘Oh, well, I don’t want to pay for a millionaire’s kid to go to college.’ That’s their like jujitsu on us that they’re trying to pull.”

The congresswoman further defended her characterization of public goods on Twitter.

“Public education, libraries, & infrastructure policies (which we’ve had before in America and elsewhere in the world!) are not ‘free stuff,’” she wrote. “They are PUBLIC GOODS. And they are worth investing in, protecting, & advancing for all society and future generations.”

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Sen. Bernard Sanders in the 2020 presidential race, recently unveiled a $172 billion proposal with the Vermont senator called the Green New Deal for Public Housing, which seeks to cut carbon dioxide emissions from public housing over the next 10 years.

Public education, libraries, & infrastructure policies (which we‘ve had before in America and elsewhere in the world!) are not “free stuff.”



They are PUBLIC GOODS.



And they are worth investing in, protecting, & advancing for all society and future generations.



Sincerely,

NY-14 https://t.co/LZdUPMfbpm — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 25, 2019

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