Kshama Sawant speaking at an affordable housing town hall, Seattle WA, April 23 2015
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This interview is part of ourEconomy’s series on theUS election.
Kshama Sawant is a socialist member of the Seattle City Council.
Elected in 2013, Sawant has championed increasing the minimum wage, taxing the city’s largest corporations, and guaranteeing affordable housing for all Seattleites.
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In 2018, Sawant was one of only two voices on the City Council to vote in favor of a head tax, which would have seen Amazon pay the city $11 million annually to fund public housing and homeless services.
In response, Amazon spent an unprecedented $1.5 million to defeat her reelection bid in 2019. Sawant ultimately beat this exorbitant campaign and is currently serving her third term in office.
This week, the Seattle City Council approved a JumpStart tax – obligating Amazon to pay 2.4% for employees making over $400,000. This progressive tax will generate upwards of $200 million a year which will be allocated for Covid-19 relief and affordable housing.
We spoke with Sawant several months ago about the intersecting crises of homelessness and healthcare in Seattle and across the US.
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