Mark Cuban: Any government bailout during pandemic should ‘attack income inequality’
Within an hour of the NBA announcing it would suspend play because of the coronavirus pandemic, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he would help hourly employees at the American Airlines Center.
More players and owners across professional sports have followed suit since Cuban’s impassioned words about the plight of part-time workers during the NBA stoppage.
On Tuesday, Cuban said if the federal government gives financial help to big business, it must help the workers and not only executives. There have been reports the government considering a $1 billion stimulus package because of the coronavirus, while airline executives asking for a bailout.
“If there is a bailout of any industry, we should require that any incentives offered, whether cash or equity or repricing of options, must be offered to ALL employees. nothing can be offered to the ceo, board or execs only. Every one must be treated equally,” Cuban wrote on Twitter.
He later wrote: “If we are going to bail out firms let’s make sure all their employees benefit from a turnaround.”
CNBC’s Jim Cramer retweeted Cuban and wrote: “It is very rare that i read something that i totally and unequivocally agree with. Below is one of those reads. I am so tired of the rich profiting from every cataclysm. This is the time to reset the system in favor of the working person. Right Now!”
Cuban, whose net worth is more than $4 billion, responded to Cramer by writing about fixing the economy during the COVID-19 spread to help workers.
“Whenever we get through this, we will look back and wonder why we didn’t use this as an opportunity to attack income inequality,” Cuban wrote. “Let’s not make that mistake. This is our chance to do the right thing and reward EVERYONE who contributes to the turnaround in the economy.”
Here is what they said on Twitter on Tuesday:
This is Cuban’s tweet from Wednesday morning:
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 10:21 AM.
