Welcome to Axis ProRata, a podcast that takes just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

I'm Dan Pramak.

On today's show, a new plan to disrupt Facebook and the big problem with state and corporate efforts to fight climate change.

But first, Bernie Sanders versus Amazon.

I think it is important to take a look at the power and influence that Amazon has.

And Walmart and McDonald's and lots of other big profitable companies.

There's been lots of talk this week, including here, about how conservatives are going after

big tech.

But some of these

companies also have problems on their left flank, specifically from Bernie Sanders, who spent the

past few months talking about how Amazon pays its warehouse workers too little and subjects them to poor

working conditions. He's now publicly even asking Amazon workers to send him their horror stories

and has promised to unveil a bill

next week that would impose a new tax on Fortune 500 companies like Amazon that have employees

who utilize federal assistance in the form of everything from food stamps to public housing

to Medicaid. It's basically a one-for-one plan. So if Amazon or Walmart had a worker receiving

$1,000 in federal benefits, the company would

then be taxed $1,000. Now, why this matters isn't because it's going to become law in this Congress.

It won't. But it could become a loud rallying cry for progressives who have lots of candidates on

the ballot this November. And Sanders is going to campaign with a lot of them. And it's serious enough

that Amazon chose to publicly respond, despite typically ignoring barbs from D.C. politicians, such as President

Trump. And even though Amazon's reply didn't specifically address the idea of taxes tied to public

...