Sen. Bernie Sanders, hero of the left and a widely rumored 2020 presidential contender, is showing he won’t back down from powerful corporations like Amazon. If companies won’t pay their employees a living wage, Sanders argues, the government should recoup the cost of providing government services through a specific tax.

Sanders is partnering with prominent House progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act, which would enact a tax on large corporations equal to the federal benefits their low-wage employees receive in order to make ends meet. Companies such as Amazon, Walmart, and American Airlines will have to pay every dollar in aid their workers get from the government back through taxes.

The bill’s goal is to curb so-called “corporate welfare” — part of an ongoing battle Sanders has been waging against corporations more broadly — but Amazon has been in his crosshairs of late. He hosted a worker town hall in July and last month put together a petition to demand Jeff Bezos implement better working conditions and pay. Last month, he also set up a web portal for employees to share their experiences, prompting Amazon, in an unusual move, to respond.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.vox.com