Jessica Salas

Wages / Job Benefits Civil service reform means building a strong, modern, and independent public workforce with protections that prioritize skill, performance, and accountability. That starts with streamlining hiring and raising government pay to reflect the market — especially in shortage areas like cybersecurity, housing, public health, and environmental science. Merit-based hiring must be preserved, while limiting the number of political appointees and closing loopholes that allow presidents to replace senior civil servants with partisan loyalists. Taxes / Budget To correct this imbalance, we must take clear steps: tax extreme wealth fairly by raising marginal rates for billionaires and large estates; eliminate loopholes for the ultra-rich; and end preferential treatment of capital gains and offshore tax havens. Taxes / Budget Increase public spending that reaches everyone by expanding universal healthcare, childcare, affordable housing, clean energy, and strong schools. By requiring the wealthiest to contribute more, we lay the groundwork for an economy that works for all. Legislation Investing in training, leadership development, and digital modernization would give agencies the tools to deliver services quickly and effectively. Strong whistleblower protections, clear performance metrics, and transparent budgeting ensure workers stay focused on public outcomes instead of political pressure. Wages / Job Benefits To protect working people, we must overhaul the rules so workers gain real power: raise the national minimum wage and automatically adjust it to inflation; guarantee paid family and sick leave; ensure access to universal healthcare that is not tied to employment. Pass labor reforms such as the PRO Act to ban retaliation against organizers and secure fair bargaining. Extend labor protections to gig, part-time, domestic, and farm workers. Enforce wage-theft penalties, strengthen OSHA safety standards, and expand apprenticeship and training pathways so that all jobs lead to stability. Immigration Abolish ice.