Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez poked fun at Bill Gates' plan to boost billionaires' coronavirus donations, suggesting they pay their taxes

• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out Bill Gates' plans to drum up more coronavirus donations from billionaires, suggesting they pay their taxes instead.
• "If only there were some public fund billionaires could pay into along with everyone else that helps fund our infrastructure, hospitals, and public systems all at once," the freshman lawmaker known as "AOC" tweeted on Wednesday evening.
• "It could even be a modest % of what they earn every year. We could have an agency collect it and everything," she added.
• Gates has discussed pooling donations from Giving Pledge signers or building a philanthropic platform for the ultra wealthy, Recode reported.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez poked fun at Bill Gates' plans to push his fellow billionaires to donate more towards fighting coronavirus, arguing they could just pay their taxes in a tweet on Wednesday evening.

"If only there were some public fund billionaires could pay into along with everyone else that helps fund our infrastructure, hospitals, and public systems all at once," the progressive lawmaker said. She was commenting on a Recode report that the Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist could pool billionaires' donations or launch a philanthropic platform for them.

"It could even be a modest % of what they earn every year. We could have an agency collect it and everything," Ocasio-Cortez, who goes by "AOC," continued.

"If it helps, they could think of it as a subscription service to living in an advanced society," the congresswoman said in a second tweet.

"Just imagine billionaires paying enough so teachers in the US don't have to work multiple jobs and sell their own blood plasma to survive," she added. "Call me radical, but it might be worth it."

In follow-up tweets, Ocasio-Cortez mocked several commenters — including the editor of a conservative magazine and the head of policy at a budget-responsibility group — who apparently didn't get the joke that income taxes and the Inland Revenue Service already exist.

Gates, in his ongoing battle against the coronavirus, could solicit donations from signers of the Giving Pledge, Recode reported.

He launched the declaration with famed investor and close friend Warren Buffett almost a decade ago. More than 200 billionaires have signed it, signaling their commitment to eventually donate at least half their net worth to charitable causes.

The philanthropist is also mulling a "marketplace" to connect billionaires with each other and selected non-profits to boost donations, Recode said.