President Barack Obama said he’s focusing the last two years of his presidency on addressing income equality because most Americans haven’t enjoyed the recovery’s benefits even as the wealthiest Americans have been enriched.

In a Jan. 23 interview with the website Vox.com published Monday, Obama said wants to use tax policy to boost the economic prospects for teachers, construction workers and other middle- and lower-income Americans because so much wealth is concentrated with corporations and the wealthiest individuals.

“What we’ve proposed, for example, in terms of capital gains, that would make a big difference in our capacity to give a tax break to a working mom for child care,” Obama said his tax proposals, which he’ll need to negotiate with the Republican-controlled Congress.

“That’s smart policy, and there’s no evidence that would hurt the incentives of folks at Google or Microsoft or Uber not to invent what they invent or not to provide services they provide,” the president said. “It just means that instead of $20 billion, maybe they’ve got 18, right? But it does mean that mom can go to work without worrying that her kid’s not in a safe place.”

More Cash

Google Inc., the technology company based in Mountain View, California, had $67.5 billion in cash and equivalents at the end of 2014. It has increased its cash on hand each year since it sold shares to the public. Google’s top two shareholders are co- founders Lawrence Page and Sergey Brin, the 19th and 20th richest billionaires in the world, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Microsoft Corp., founded by Bill Gates, the world’s richest person, had more cash, with $90.2 billion at the end of 2014. The last time the Redmond, Washington-based software company reported an annual drop in its cash on hand was 2007.

Uber Technologies Inc., a ride-sharing company, isn’t publicly traded. Founder Travis Kalanick made the Forbes list of the 400 richest people in the U.S. last year, ranked 290th, with an estimated $3 billion net worth.

In the interview, Obama emphasized the populist themes he’s invoked more often since Democrats lost control of the Senate in November’s midterm elections.

He urged shareholders to be more active in seeking to improve prospects for workers in the U.S. and abroad, saying the era when a company was closely rooted to a community and compelled to invest in people and institutions has ended.

Obama said globalization and a focus on quarterly profits have forced the government to play a bigger role in making sure there’s a safety net for individuals.