Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., will introduce an anti-corporate welfare bill Wednesday targeted at corporations such as Amazon, Walmart and American Airlines. The legislation would levy a tax of 100 percent for all federal benefits for low-income workers the corporations’ employees receive.
The legislation is set to be introduced on Wednesday.
Sanders has criticized Amazon in particular for allegedly not paying its workers a living wage and has solicited the employees to share stories of this with his office. He has argued that taxpayers are effectively subsidizing Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, by providing welfare benefits for Amazon workers who are in poverty.
The senator has claimed that the median annual salary for a U.S. Amazon worker is $28,446. Amazon has said the figure is erroneous because it includes global and part-time employees. It claims the median U.S. salary for full-time Amazon employees is $34,123.
The attacks prompted a rare public response from the company last week, defending its practices and claiming it provides comprehensive benefits. “Senator Sanders plays politics and makes misleading accusations,” the company said in a statement. It also encouraged employees to contact Sanders and relate their experiences working at Amazon.
