50 Cent has done a political 180 this week after learning about Joe Biden's tax plans for the rich. He's gone from dunking on Trump to endorsing him — based on some dubious data.
As recently as March, the rapper blasted Trump supporters over the government’s coronavirus response, saying: “You wanted a reality show host as president. Well, now you’re on Survivor.” Back in 2016, the Get Rich Or Die Tryin' rapper turned down Trump's $500,000 offer to come to his 2016 inauguration, saying, "All money's not good money." But after learning that Biden plans to tax high-earning Californians at 62 percent, he wrote: "WHAT THE FUCK! (VOTE ForTRUMP)."
It seems Fif is voting strategically this election, prioritizing his wealth over concerns of racial inequality and police brutality. “[I] don’t care Trump doesn’t like black people 62% are you out of ya fucking mind,” he wrote on Instagram.
50 posted a shot of a CNBC program that showed the top tax rates in California, New Jersey, New York State, and New York City for Americans earning more than $400,000 a year, according to the tax plan proposed by the Biden administration.
Realistically, it's unlikely 50 Cent would be required to pay this rate. CNBC’s own reporting reveals that “few if any taxpayers pay the full statutory rates, which don’t include deductions, credits, offsets, loopholes, and lower tax rates on other sources of income.” The “effective tax rate for the top 1 percent would increase from 26.8 percent to 39.8 percent,” which means that, in total, “top earners in California and New York City would pay effective state and federal tax rates of around 53 percent.”
50 Cent won't be as negatively impacted by the Democratic tax plan as he thinks. Nevertheless, he's choosing to vote strategically. This election isn't just about the candidates, it's about the policies they will push through once they're elected. It's about the future of the BLM movement, of reproductive freedom, LGBTQ rights, climate justice, and how many people will survive the pandemic. Read more about why you should vote even if you don't want to, here.
