Jobs & Economy

The economy just isn’t working the way it should: the costs of living keep rising, but families’ incomes and wages aren’t keeping up. Corporations and special interests are given special treatment, while hard-working Americans are ignored. Working people from the heartland to the cities are struggling to succeed in a rigged economy and a system stacked against them.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Democrats are offering a fresh vision for A Better Deal: Better Jobs, Better Wages, Better Future. A Better Deal means bigger, braver thinking to address the challenges facing the hard-working men and women across America who have been left out and left behind for too long.

Democrats’ ambitious, aggressive economic agenda will:

1. Raise the wages and incomes of American workers and create millions of good-paying jobs: We will commit to create good-paying, full-time jobs for 10 million more Americans in the next five years by directly investing in our crumbling infrastructure and prioritizing small business and entrepreneurs, instead of giving tax breaks to special interests. We will crack down on unfair foreign trade and fight back against corporations that outsource American jobs. We will fight to ensure a living wage for all Americans and keep our promise to millions of workers who earned a pension, Social Security and Medicare, so seniors can retire with dignity.

2. Lower the costs of living for families: We will offer A Better Deal that will lower the cost of prescription drugs and the cost of an education that leads to a good job with a college degree or a technical skill. We will fight for families struggling with high monthly bills like childcare, credit card fees, and cable bills. We will crack down on monopolies and the concentration of economic power that has led to higher prices for consumers, workers, and small business – and make sure Wall Street never endangers Main Street again.

3. Build an economy that gives working Americans the tools to succeed in the 21st Century: We will commit to every American, whether they have been working for their whole lives or are just starting off, the chance to get the skills, tools and knowledge to find a job or to move up in their career to earn a better living. We will offer new tax credits for employers to hire and train workers at a fair wage and expanded apprenticeships and paid training that furthers their careers. We will make it a national priority to bring high-speed Internet to every corner of America and offer an apprenticeship to millions of new workers. We will encourage innovation, invest in advanced research and ensure start-ups and small business can compete and prosper.

For the first time in a decade, the GOP had the White House, the Congress and complete control of the legislative process to advance their agenda. But instead of creating good-paying jobs, rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure or advancing tax reform, Republicans wasted months trying to raise Americans’ health costs to fund tax breaks for billionaires.

American families deserve A Better Deal so our country works for everyone again, not just the elites and special interests. Democrats will fight in every corner of the country – from small towns to big cities – for A Better Deal that means higher wages, lower costs and an economy that works for all Americans.

Learn more about A Better Deal here.