*By Christian Smith*
Congressman Ro Khanna wants to inspire companies to do better by their workers.
"It's absurd that you have multi-billion dollar companies, trillion-dollar companies that aren't able to pay their workers $15," Rep. Khanna said Friday in an interview on Cheddar.
That's why the prominent House progressive, who represents California's Silicon Valley, is teaming up with ex-presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to introduce legislation that would place a tax on large corporations ー money that is equivalent to the amount of federal benefits their low-income employees receive to make a livable wage.
Rep. Khanna's House bill is called the "Corporate Responsibility and Taxpayer Protection Act" and targets large companies across industries, including tech, retail, and fast food, he said.
Sanders was a little more pointed with his version, dubbed the "Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act." That's Stop BEZOS, if you didn't notice.
Rep. Khanna said that Amazon has responded to the Sanders bill, saying the company creates safe working spaces for employees and offers competitive benefits. But the Congressman said the point of benefits is a separate matter.
"They're still not addressing the fundamental point," Khanna said.
"Why can't they just come out and say they're going to pay every employee in our company at least a $15 wage so they can have a livable wage?"
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congressman-ro-khanna-wants-major-corporations-to-improve-worker-pay-or-pay-more-in-taxes).
Janee Harteau, former Minneapolis police chief, talks disbanding police dept in Minneapolis and how we can effectively reform policing in the U.S.
Stocks scrambled even higher Monday on Wall Street's enthusiasm about the reopening economy, and the Nasdaq composite set a record.
Democrats in Congress are proposing a far-reaching overhaul of America's police procedures and accountability.
After three gloomy months and 21,000 deaths that made it the nation's most lethal hot spot, New York City slowly began reopening Monday in the biggest test yet of Americans' ability to keep the coronavirus in check.
The U.S. economy entered a recession in February, a group of economists declared Monday, ending more than a decade of steady if slow growth.
Dr. Patrice Harris, speaking to Cheddar the day after her tenure at the American Medical Association ended, leaves the nation’s largest association of physicians at a time of remarkable upheaval for the medical community.
Cheddar followed the ongoing demonstrations in New York City on Thursday as protesters vowed to continue pushing back against police brutality and systemic racism.
New Zealand appears to have eradicated the coronavirus for now after health officials said the last known infected person has recovered.
Energy company BP says it will cut its global workforce by 10,000 jobs amid the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Trump administration is backing away from a threat to ban all flights to the U.S. by Chinese airlines. It will allow Chinese carriers to operate a total of two flights a week between the two countries.
