In the News
I recently sat down with Representative Ro Khanna of California to talk about technology, jobs and economic lessons from his perspective as Silicon Valley's congressman. Khanna, who is serving his first term, is vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and previously taught economics at Stanford University, law at Santa Clara University, and American jurisprudence at San Francisco State University. Here are some highlights of our conversation:
When Ro Khanna won his seat in Congress last November, it was the culmination of three congressional campaigns, a decade of political organizing and thousands of hours knocking on doors.
But as Khanna stepped offstage after delivering his victory speech in Fremont, the wonky, tech-friendly congressman-elect quickly realized the new president would in many ways be his polar opposite: someone who pays little attention to the weeds of policy and who has even bemoaned the role of computers in society.
When Amazon announced last week that it intended to acquire the upscale grocery chain Whole Foods, it sent shockwaves through the grocery industry. Other grocers' share prices plummeted. Analysts predicted Amazon would become a "top five" grocer within a few years. Synergies were imagined.
Within all the business chatter, however, a few policy wonks and at least one ally in Congress began to raise the antitrust alarm. They think Amazon is too powerful and might engage in anti-competitive practices.
Amazon's $13.7 billion deal to acquire Whole Foods will cause a few problems in one major district of California, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna told CNBC on Monday.
"The main problem is it is going to hurt local grocery stores," Khanna, a Democratic congressman whose district includes a large portion of Silicon Valley, said on "Squawk Alley."
Amazon and Whole Foods can "engage in low-cost pricing and it is also going to put pressure on wages," he added.
As soon as Amazon announced on Friday that it was purchasing Whole Foodsfor $13.7 billion, antitrust and competition policy experts sat straight up.
While Amazon has been toying with brick-and-mortar retail for a few years — opening a handful of bookstores and grocery stores — the Seattle digital retail giant's domination has mostly stayed online. Amazon accounted for 34 percent of all digital commerce last year, and that figure is expected to hit 50 percent by 2021, according to figures from the research firm Needham & Co.
When Walmart and other low-wage employers fail to pay their employees enough to live decent lives, taxpayers often end up picking the tab for public assistance.
Freshman California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and nine House co-sponsors are introducing legislation to put an end to the free ride.
The Corporate Responsibility and Taxpayer Protection Act would levy a fee equivalent to the public assistance that a company's employees are eligible to receive, with the intent to incentivize businesses to pay their employees enough so they don't need public assistance.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), whose district includes many of the world's biggest technology companies, invited U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to visit Silicon Valley following her call to regulate the internet to target terrorism suspects.
After attacks in her country in recent weeks, May accused internet companies of providing a "safe space" for extremist ideologies to spread.
In a letter to May on Wednesday, Khanna asked her to visit Silicon Valley and pointed to efforts from web companies to crack down on terrorist propaganda.
KHANNA: LET'S BRING BRITISH PM TO VALLEY — Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) tells MT he's exploring how to formally invite British Prime Minister Theresa May to his Silicon Valley district, so she can learn what tech companies are already doing to restrict terrorist groups like ISIS. In the wake of this weekend's London attacks, May argued that the "big companies" that run online services — read Facebook, Twitter and the like — are giving terrorism "the safe space it needs to breed." Said Khanna of tech leaders, "Everyone feels horrible about terrorism and violence.
You'd be hard-pressed to find two congressmen more dissimilar than us. We come from different parties, and we represent very different districts. One of us taught economics in the technology hub of Silicon Valley; the other is a Marine veteran from the dairy farming capital of the country. One of us campaigned against the Iraq War; the other served in it. Though we may not agree on everything, we do agree wholeheartedly on a key takeaway from our first few months as members of the U.S.
In a speech delivered to Congress on July 4, 1821, John Quincy Adams rightly argued that America must hold high the banner for "Freedom, Independence, Peace," but exercise restraint in foreign policy. He understood that we should offer our prayers and voices to others who seek liberty while avoiding the trap of venturing abroad "in search of monsters to destroy."