NEW: REP. RO KHANNA SPEAKS TO THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF PROGRESSIVISM

Washington, DC – Today, The New York Times Magazine released a new interview with Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-D) on the future of progressivism and his plan in Congress to broaden the coalition with a strong economic message and a focus on Americans who have been left behind across the country.

In the interview, Khanna details his start in politics, his focus on economic production and a new economic patriotism, and how to capture people’s imaginations.

Khanna says, “My aspiration is to inspire not just progressives but a majority of this country. My argument is that the central concern people have, including progressives, is that the American dream has slipped away, that people don’t think that their lives or their kids’ lives are going to be as good as the lives of their parents. So how do we capture the economic imagination of the country to believe that their prospects are going to be better? Having a perpetual economic-development council at the White House — which we don’t have — is important. Then doing things in communities that have lost steel; say, look, we’re going to put up new steel plants in these communities. That would go a huge way in capturing the imagination and getting the working class that has been left out to say, ‘We’re going to be part of this economy.’”

Khanna also addresses the tensions surrounding progressive capitalism saying, “The core progressive animating idea has largely been redistribution: We’ve got to tax the wealthy. There are challenges that I would pose to that. I’m for taxing the rich more, but there has to be a focus on economic production — on how do we grow the pie? Not just redistribution, but giving more people the opportunity to create wealth. That has to be part of the progressive vision, and that has to involve the private sector. You can’t build new steel factories in this country in Ashtabula, Ohio, or Johnstown, Pa., if you don’t work with the private sector. So on challenging the progressive side: Have a focus on production, and be open to a partnership with the private sector. On the capitalism side: You have to care about place. You can’t just say let’s have all this macroeconomic growth and not focus on every district in America. Make sure that you understand that it is a bad thing for America that my district has $10 trillion of company value and other districts are totally in despair.”

Read the full interview here.

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Congressman Khanna represents the 17th District of California, which covers communities in Silicon Valley. Visit his website at khanna.house.gov. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @RepRoKhanna.