Jeff Bezos tweets quote about making world better place, receives harsh responses

SEATTLE — Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos tweeted Saturday a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote that reflects on what it means to succeed in life and make the world a better place.

In response, many people tweeted at him about Amazon’s recent decision to pause construction in Seattle amid a head tax proposal.

The quote, printed on a sheet of paper, is pinned to his fridge, Bezos says in his tweet.

“Love this quote,” Bezos wrote Saturday to accompany the image. “It’s been on my fridge for years, and I see it every time I open the door.”

“Paying taxes would help you achieve many of those things,” Twitter user Mafalda Dâmaso wrote.

Scroll down to read more responses to the tweet from Bezos.

The quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson reads, “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Amazon fired a warning shot Wednesday over a plan at Seattle City Hall to tax big businesses $500 for each worker. Read all about the proposed tax here.

Amazon said it has halted construction planning for a new building at 7th and Blanchard and is exploring options to sublease space to another company in a tower being built at Rainier Square that Amazon planned to occupy itself.

The two projects would provide space for 7,000 new Amazon workers. Four members of the Seattle City Council have proposed an employee hours tax to raise money for affordable housing and emergency services for the homeless.

"We have to act with urgency. Folks are dying right now," Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said of the tax at a City Council meeting.

Council members say the money from the proposed new business tax would go to programs that fight homelessness. The tax would apply to only 3 percent of Seattle businesses, those with gross receipts more than $20 million a year.

The first two years, 2019-2021, it would be an employee head tax of 26 cents an hour -- about $500 per employee each year.

After that, there would be a payroll tax of 0.07 percent.

Councilmember Mike O'Brien is one of the architects of the tax plan. “In light of the continuing rising crisis around homelessness and housing, I think that's an appropriate level,” O'Brien said.

The new tax would raise $75 million; 75 percent would go for affordable housing, 20 percent for homelessness programs, the rest for administration and debt service.

Those programs include shelter and social services needed to help people get off the streets and stay off the streets.

The council was expected to vote on the proposed tax as early as May 14. That vote may be pushed back.

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