Our state legislature has let down both businesses and workers in Georgia by failing to keep our state minimum wage in line with the always-inflating cost of the market.

The last time the Georgia legislature raised our state minimum wage was in 2002, when they raised it from $3.25 to $5.15— and to only $2.15 for tipped employees. These rates are so low that the federal minimum wage supersedes our state wage. Yet, even at the federal minimum wage of $7.25, a hypothetical 40-hour-a-week fulltime employee still wouldn’t make enough pre-tax income to afford rent and food anywhere in our district!

And wages are just the tip of the iceberg. Disability and internship exemptions, taxes on tips, the undervaluation of critical careers like teachers and public safety offices, and the lack of income transparency rules enshrine inequality in the private sector and limit all of our ability to make informed career decisions—at every level of the economy.

As your state Senator, I will work to reform our state minimum wage and tie it to a dynamic economic variable—preferably housing prices—so working Georgians don’t have to wait another 22 years for a wage adjustment that keeps up with inflation. And to spare business the sudden burden of previous legislative malfeasance, I'll work to make any wage change graduated and as pain free as possible. I’ll also advocate for student-loan re-payment plans for state employees with in-demand skills who meet certain employment criteria and complete specified tenures in the state’s employ.

Georgians of every income level and in every corner of the state want to work. But with the worst rate of healthcare access in the nation, it doesn’t matter if you’re in the middle class or are struggling with poverty—you can’t work if you’re not healthy. Furthermore, nearly one-in-three working-age adults cite caregiving responsibilities as the primary reason they don’t participate in the workforce.

It's no wonder so many of us can’t participate in our booming economy.

But many other states offer healthcare and child/eldercare solutions with proven results and proven returns on investment. Universal preK, for instance, can offer as much as a $4:1 economic ROI!

As your state Senator, I’ll fight to expand universal preK and to offer free public-school meals for students in kindergarten through high school. This simple change will free up millions of Georgia parents participate in the workforce, offset the rising cost of groceries, and ensuring our children are healthy enough to learn and thrive. Further, I’ll fight to expand Medicaid so more Georgians have access to healthcare outcomes so they can work, stay healthy, and keep up with the spiraling cost of healthcare.

We enjoy great schools and vibrant communities. But can our children and grandchildren afford to live anywhere near the communities we’ve worked so hard to build for them?

Obtainable housing and home ownership are the cornerstones of economic stability, social equity, and overall well-being. And while booming home values benefit many of us, if we want to healthy, stable, and prosperous communities, we need to make sure runaway housing prices don’t leave behind the people our communities depend on.

As your state senator—and in addition to working to raise the minimum wage—I’ll champion obtainable housing initiatives for law enforcement and teachers so they can live in their served communities. I’ll fight for a study committee to see how those initiatives can be expanded to benefit healthcare workers and others who keep our communities healthy but who often can’t afford to live in them. I’ll work to incentivize vehicle-alternatives, to expand walkable communities, and to challenge the private equity firms who reap millions of dollars from persistently dangerous or overpriced housing. And I’ll also encourage net metering and dual-land use programs so homeowners and landowners with renewable-energy systems can benefit from an additional revenue stream where they sell excess electricity back into the grid.

As a small-business person myself, I know how hard it can be to start a business, keep it running, raise a family, and buy a home all at the same time.

In many ways, ours is a feudal economy where those who work for enterprise companies have access to significant benefits while gig workers, the self-employed, and small businesspeople are left to pay exorbitant insurance rates, enjoy no guaranteed parental time off, and struggle to qualify for mortgages.

And ours in a greatly unequal economy. While small-business infrastructure exists in much of the metro area, it is greatly lacking in many corners of the state.

As your state senator, I’ll work to expand broadband infrastructure development and access via mechanisms such as grants, loans, and public-private partnerships so every Georgian can take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the digital economy. Following the lead of proven models in other states, I’ll propose partnerships between the state, broadband utilities, and the university system to establish training and small-business incubators in underserved areas—especially with technology and green-energy foci. And I’ll work to reform state insurance policies to make insurance available and affordable to small business owners while also fighting to simplify and streamline licensing and permitting processes, reducing startup costs and administrative burdens.