Sen. Ruben Gallego seeks public input for his plan to rebuild the middle class

U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego has unveiled a five-pronged strategy for fighting the American cost-of-living crisis — and he wants to incorporate feedback from the public.

The Democrat posted his memorandum, which outlines his broad approach and key objectives, online.

Everyone is urged to speak up, whether they’re nearing retirement age, fresh out of high school or anywhere else along their career path.

Arizonans can provide input on the memorandum by filling out this online form before Aug. 7.

How does Ruben Gallego plan to solve cost-of-living crisis?

The first pillar focuses on raising wages and improving benefits. He wants to set a $20-per-hour minimum wage and double private sector union membership by 2035.

To reach those goals, he proposes exploring sectorwide bargaining, changing the tax code to reward work over automation and giving antitrust agencies more power to promote competition in the labor market.

The second pillar is about protecting and growing blue-collar jobs in key industries such as chipmaking, tourism, hospitality, entertainment, transportation and manufacturing.

It focuses on preventing workers from being displaced by automation, artificial intelligence or offshoring. It also calls for stronger trade, tax and antitrust policies to support American workers and increase competition.

The third pillar focuses on rebuilding workers’ trust in government. Gallego proposes expanding unemployment benefits, regulating workplace technology used to monitor employees and creating jobs programs modeled after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

The fourth pillar aims to expand job-creating entrepreneurship, especially outside major cities that have seen strong growth over the past two decades.

Specifically, Gallego wants to strengthen local economies in smaller cities, tribal communities and rural areas by:

• Promoting competition in rural food systems
• Cutting red tape for businesses and small manufacturers
• Investing in transportation networks to better connect small and midsize cities

The fifth pillar focuses on helping workers find jobs faster. Gallego wants to regulate “ghost jobs” — job postings for positions that are not actually available — and expand apprenticeship opportunities.

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