Top democratic socialist makes a fool of herself as she can't explain what 'taxing the rich' means

Published: 21:24, 10 August 2026 | Updated: 21:28, 10 August 2026 A leader of the Democratic Socialists of America organization struggled to answer a question about the organization's tax policy during a recent interview. DSA co-chair Megan Romer was unable to provide a clear answer when asked to define the group's belief that she described as 'taxing the hell out of millionaires.'  This occurred during a recent interview with David Remnick of The New Yorker Radio Hour podcast, posted on August 7. 'Uhhhh, yeah, you know, again, I don't have like a solid [answer]... but I think-' Romer said to which Remnick replied: 'But shouldn't you?' Remnick questioned whether Romer, as one of the leaders of the DSA, should be more specific than simply saying 'taxing the hell' out of something. Romer responded: 'Um, that's a good question.' When Remnick pressed her to explain what she meant, Romer shifted the topic towards dependence and exploitation. 'So again, it's democracy, right?' Romer continued. 'And we have to look at what we have to spend and what we need. We don't want to depend on the existence of millionaires because that means people are still getting exploited.' The segment of the interview ended with Romer saying: 'So yeah, we need to look at what we need to pay for in the interim, what sort of tax base we need for that to happen, and build from there.'  Megan Romer, co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America organization, struggled to answer a question about the organization's tax policy during a recent interview with the New Yorker This occurred during a recent interview with David Remnick of The New Yorker Radio Hour podcast, where Romer was asked to specify what 'taxing the hell out of millionaires' meant Prior to the exchange, she mentioned that she was 'less concerned about millionaires, more concerned about billionaires.'  When Remnick asked how much money Romer believes is too much, she clarified that a person's method of obtaining wealth is a more important focus. 'Are we exploiting people is the bigger question, as opposed to some sort of arbitrary red line of "You can have this much money or not have that much money."' Her conclusion was that most billionaires got their wealth from exploiting the working class 'in some very significant way.'   Reactions online were stunned at Romer's lack of clarity in her responses. 'Dude, a lot of centrists are pro taxing the millionaires, but these people that mention it so vehemently have can't provide a reason of why you would do that, how would you do that and what would you do with the money they get from them,' said one reply on X. Another wrote: 'When you spend years in an echo chamber even a simple question just stops these people in their tracks.'  'So her solution is: "we'll have to look at it". Uhhh...lady......why haven't you already looked at it?' replied another. After a reply on X directly asked Romer for clarification on what 'taxing the hell out of millionaires' entails, she responded with more details. 'Higher marginal income tax rates (above 90% at high levels), high inheritance taxes, caps on earnings for CEOs (prob tied to average worker salary), capital gains taxes, significantly increased taxation and reporting on offshore accounts, high taxes on second (+) homes, etc.' Romer wrote. Reactions online have been stunned by the lack of clarity in Romer's response Romer finally gave more details on what 'taxing the hell out of millionaires' meant on social media after requests for an explanation The Democratic Socialists of America website describes the group as an activist organization focused on fighting for reforms that empower working people The DSA website explains that they are an activist organization focused on fighting for reforms that empower working people. 'We believe that working people should run both the economy and civil society, and we show our commitment to this principle by being an organization of, by, and for the working class,' the page writes.  The interview comes after the recent Democratic primary victories of multiple democratic socialist candidates.  DSA members include Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, who recently won their respective primaries with the backing of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is also a member of the organization. The Daily Mail reached out to the DSA for comment.