His complete tweet stated that the newly established Disinformation Board should assess his tweet, or possibly they should establish a new Non Sequitur Board instead. He believes that discussing raising corporate taxes is acceptable and that discussing taming inflation is crucial, but combining the two topics is simply a distraction. Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, continued to express his frustration in a follow-up tweet on Sunday, according to the DealBook newsletter. He praised Joe Manchin, the moderate senator from West Virginia who has often chosen not to support other Democrats on economic matters, thus blocking further stimulus plans. Bezos commended Manchin for preventing the Democrats from making a mistake, involving the company in politics during a tense time with ongoing employee unionization efforts. Many corporate leaders have been avoiding contentious issues to avoid negative repercussions, and engaging in tax disputes with the government on social media could draw unwanted attention to Amazon's tax practices. Despite reporting almost $36 billion in pretax income in the US in 2021, Amazon claimed it only owed around $2 billion in federal taxes. That is a tax rate of 6 percent, which is lower than what both corporations and workers are required to pay. Last year, Biden announced plans to increase rates and eliminate tax loopholes, specifically calling out Amazon for their low tax rate. Amazon did not provide a response when contacted by DealBook. Disney recently lost its tax benefits in Florida after opposing a law restricting discussions on gender identity in schools. Now, both state and federal Republican lawmakers are working on legislation that would penalize politically active businesses. Executives are now faced with finding a balance in this situation. Many workers, shareholders, and customers are calling for corporations to take a stand on social issues, particularly as abortion rights have become a prominent topic in the midterm elections. Amazon's current CEO, Andy Jassy, is likely not seeking to engage in this controversy at the moment. In contrast, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have been quietly cultivating relationships with the government, despite publicly criticizing the Biden administration. Bezos' Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX are heavily involved in lobbying efforts to secure funding for their space exploration projects and NASA contracts. Senator Bernie Sanders has accused the two billionaires of treating NASA as a source of easy money. He sent a tweet to Bezos on Saturday regarding Amazon's labor problems and increasing profits, accusing the company of spreading false information and mistreating workers. He criticized Amazon for blaming price increases on inflation while making huge profits and dodging taxes.