We Can Fix San Francisco. We Can Fix America.

Stop Trump’s authoritarian coup

Make no mistake: Trump is attempting an authoritarian coup. He is doing it by taking a wrecking ball to our government and other public institutions. He’s going after law firms and universities to take more and more control over our civil society. He’s creating a vigilante police force of masked agents in unmarked vans who pick up our neighbors off the streets and disappear them into far off detention centers. And we already know he and the Republicans in Congress will dispute the results of any election where they don’t win.

In my first term in Congress, I would be lying to you if I said I could get all the big ideas in this platform done with Trump still President. My main job in that first term is going to be to protect San Franciscans from Trump’s attacks and make sure Trump does not destroy our democracy.

To protect San Franciscans, I will build the best constituent services office in the country. Most people don’t know this, but your Congressperson is supposed to be your chief advocate when you have a complaint with the federal government. That means if you don’t get a social security check, or your spouse is picked up by ICE, you should be able to go to your Congressperson’s constituent services office and ask for help. And here’s the thing: it really works. As Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, I helped build her constituent services office in New York. At the time, Trump was in power and waging a war on immigrants – and AOC’s district was the most immigrant-heavy district in the country. I was amazed at how a simple phone call from her office could unblock a blocked citizenship application or stop a deportation in progress. It showed me just how powerful a congressional office can be when it fights for its constituents, and I am very proud of the work we did there.

To stop Trump’s attacks on our civil institutions, I will treat my job as more than a legislator – I plan to be an organizer. I will actively organize law firms and universities under attack from Trump to get them to oppose Trump as collective blocs. It’s easy for Trump to go after one law firm at a time – but if they collectively oppose him, they have the power. It’s difficult for any single law firm to organize this, but a legislator could.

I will also fight to ensure we have fair and free elections in 2028. Republicans have actively been taking over county election boards – the bodies that count and certify elections – and filling them with election deniers. I will act to reverse this and to call it out where it’s happening. I will do everything in my power to make sure it is impossible for Republicans to steal an election by denying the results in 2028.

Make housing affordable

We are in the middle of a national housing crisis. Rent and housing costs have skyrocketed in nearly every American city. Nowhere has this crisis been more acute than in San Francisco. The median home in our city now costs $1.4 million — far more than any middle-class family can afford — and rents are 70% higher than the national average. Although San Francisco has become the poster child for this crisis, it is happening all across the country. We can solve this problem. I believe San Francisco should be a city where everyone who works here can afford to live here.

In Congress, I will create legislation for a national housing plan to build tens of thousands of new homes in San Francisco and millions of new homes across the country. Building on that scale is commonplace in many other countries and there’s no reason we can’t do it. I’ll lead the way advocating for federal programs that help cities and states cut red tape and quickly approve new housing. Cities that have pursued similar plans, such as Austin and Minneapolis, have shown that these reforms result in lower rents and housing prices.

However, we’ve seen that cutting red tape alone has not been enough. Even after rents dropped significantly in Austin and Minneapolis, half of the residents are still rent-burdened. And in San Francisco, we’ve seen that even after sites get slated for development, private developers often don’t build because it’s too expensive or interest rates rise. That’s why my plan for a Reconstruction Finance Corporation will provide public loans and investment that can finance the construction of affordable housing that the private market won’t build on their own — including starter homes, low-income housing, and “gentle-density” homes such as townhomes or ADUs. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation will proactively ensure housing gets built and, if it isn’t getting built, figure out why and solve those bottlenecks.

I will also repeal the Faircloth Amendment, which currently blocks the government from building new publicly owned housing. Many countries around the world, including Austria, Singapore, and Finland, build incredibly high quality social housing. Even in America, Montgomery County in Maryland has shown that high quality, mixed-income social housing works. We must build social housing at scale to make sure we have permanently affordable housing units.

We must end housing being used as a speculative asset. Housing should be for people to live in, not for big corporations to gamble with. I will use Congress's investigative power to go after corporate landlords that engage in price-fixing and predatory speculation that drives up costs for everyone. I will support legislation to crack down on big investment firms buying up houses to flip them.

Finally, as we build more housing, it is imperative that we protect our neighbors who are already here. We need to expand rental assistance programs for low-income renters at risk of eviction, introduce federal support for community land trusts that protect existing affordable housing, fund tenant unions, increase access to low-income housing vouchers, and introduce legislation to make rent payments tax-deductible – like mortgage payments are – to level the playing field between renters and homeowners. With the right protections in place, we can build more housing while keeping our communities stable and intact.

Build the clean economy to create prosperity for all

America used to build things. A few years before Pearl Harbor, Franklin D. Roosevelt began building the Arsenal of Democracy that would go on to win World War II. He put all of America to work defeating fascism by building the most powerful industrial economy in the world, creating a vast amount of new wealth and high-paying middle class jobs as a byproduct. That new wealth dramatically improved Americans’ lives, created the middle class, and finally got the country out of the Great Depression.

Today, the climate crisis is both the toughest challenge and the greatest economic opportunity humanity has ever seen. Instead of upgrading our economy to build war materiel and machines, we need to replace the old, dirty economy that’s causing massive wildfires, droughts, and pollution — and failing to provide prosperity to most Americans. In its place, we must build a new, clean economy that delivers prosperity to everyone.

Building the clean economy will create millions of high-paying American jobs and dramatically improve living standards. I’ve spent the last seven years proving this. As Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, I helped author the Green New Deal. I also co-founded the think tank New Consensus, where we have created the Mission for America — a successor to the Green New Deal with the details filled in.

The Mission for America is a detailed, comprehensive, and practical plan to rapidly slash emissions and create prosperity for all by building the most valuable goods and services that the whole world needs to build a clean economy. It includes more than 20 national subplans to upgrade and expand every sector of our economy, laying out exactly what we need to do to build the high-tech, clean industries and infrastructure for each. Equally as important, the MFA describes the political strategy that a President and Congress would have to take to lead the country in this mobilization and succeed. Finally, it details how to create the investment and coordination institutions we’ll need to get back into mission mode.

Among other goals, the Mission for America is a plan to:

• Make America the global leader and exporter in clean tech, energy and manufacturing
• Create a massively expanded 100% clean electricity grid within 10 years
• Expand and electrify public transit systems across the country
• Switch to 100% electric vehicles and become a leading exporter of EVs to the world
• Build millions of units of sustainable housing and upgrade millions more homes and buildings for energy efficiency
• Create resilience to climate change so we can withstand increasing wildfires and extreme weather events

You can read the full plan for Mission for America here.

Save Muni and BART

San Francisco is the second-densest city in America, with the second-highest transit ridership per capita in America — but our local public transit systems are in crisis. Muni is facing a $322 million budget deficit that is forcing it to make devastating cuts to services. BART is also struggling with a looming budget deficit of $376 million. Unless we fix these budget gaps, thousands of San Franciscans will lose the public transportation services they rely on to get around.

The issues facing Muni and BART are not unique, and public transit projects across the country are struggling to make ends meet. The funding struggles our transit systems face are the direct result of Congress underfunding public transit. For decades, Congress has invested billions in dividing our communities with new highways, rather than connecting them with public transit. Now, San Franciscans will pay the price in reduced services and longer commutes. We need to start treating and investing in public transit like the essential service it is.

I have a plan to save Muni and BART by changing how Congress funds public transit projects. I'll fight to redirect federal funds away from highway expansions and put it towards supporting and expanding public transportation. I'll make sure new federal funding is set aside to help cover the day-to-day operations of transit agencies — something Congress hasn't done since the 1990s. Taking even a small fraction of highway money and investing it in public transit would provide enough money to end Muni's and BART’s entire budget shortfall.

We can do more than just fix our transit agencies' budget deficits, with just a few policy levers we can set them up to thrive for decades. I'll work with Muni to help them utilize federal incentives for housing to build hundreds of units of affordable housing on Muni owned land. Not only would this generate more revenue but it would unlock more affordable housing near transit lines.

Muni and BART have been essential parts of Bay Area life for decades. If we want them to thrive over the next century, we need someone in Congress who is ready to fight for them.

Enact universal healthcare

The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country. What do we have to show for it? 27 million uninsured adults, four million uninsured children, ever-increasing premiums, prescription drug prices nearly three times higher than in other countries, and some of the worst health outcomes in the world.

For decades, politicians have promised to fix our healthcare system, but nothing fundamentally changes. Both parties take millions from pharmaceutical companies and insurance lobbyists while Americans drown in medical debt. If you send me to Washington, I will take on companies that exploit patients and build a healthcare system that works for the people.

I believe that the best way to guarantee high-quality healthcare for all Americans is with a Medicare for All system. Medicare for All would provide Americans with high-quality healthcare without monthly premiums or deductibles. I will also make sure that any Medicare for All plan covers hearing, dental, vision, in-home care, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. Multiple studies have shown that America would actually spend far less on healthcare each year with Medicare for All than under our existing system.

I will also stand up to prescription drug companies that price gouge consumers. Drug companies relentlessly hike up prices for prescriptions and use that money to reward their wealthy shareholders. I will fight back against corporate price gouging by supporting legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate prices for all drugs. Furthermore, I will propose legislation creating a new public corporation that manufactures common generic prescription drugs and sells them to the American people at cost — no more insane markups for lifesaving drugs.

Healthcare is a human right, and it's time to deliver healthcare that works for all Americans.

Make raising a family affordable

Every day that I talk to voters I hear the same thing: raising a family in San Francisco has become unbearably expensive. The cost of essentials such as healthcare, housing, and childcare has skyrocketed while wages have stagnated. Sending your child to daycare now costs more than sending them to college. A modest family home in San Francisco costs more than a million dollars. Every year, more and more families I know are priced out of San Francisco. Unless we act now, we’re going to lose our city’s children and young families.

In Congress, I will push for sweeping policies to make raising a child in San Francisco affordable. I’ll start by making sure that every new parent has a right to 24 weeks of paid parental leave. Once parents are ready to go back to work, we need to make sure they have access to affordable childcare — which is why I support universal daycare and pre-K for all families.

Inflation has made keeping up with the ongoing costs of parenting — such as buying clothes, school supplies, and groceries — incredibly difficult. Parents need financial help now more than ever. That is why I’ll support legislation creating a child stipend that deposits $300 per child into a parent’s bank account each month. Not only will this program help all families make ends meet, studies have shown that it will cut childhood poverty by up to 40%.

Too many families in San Francisco are barely getting by while Washington ignores the crisis right in front of them. We need leaders who will prioritize families over corporate donors and fight to keep San Francisco affordable for the next generation.

Lower utility bills

San Francisco residents are suffering under the burden of high-energy costs. In 2024 alone, PG&E increased its electricity rates six different times. Over just the last three years, the average PG&E bill has gone up 56%. Now, PG&E is planning even more rate hikes. Residents, especially low-income families and seniors, can barely keep up with these outrageous costs.

The worst part? PG&E doesn’t use your money to improve our infrastructure — it goes to profits for wealthy shareholders. We’ve had enough of PG&E taking advantage of San Franciscans. If we want to keep energy costs low, we need to turn PG&E into a public utility that serves the people.

San Francisco actually has the legal right to do exactly that for its own grid. The 1913 Raker Act granted San Francisco the authority to generate and distribute its own power with the requirement that the city provide power at the lowest possible cost and with no private profit. For over a century, PG&E has lobbied politicians and regulators to not enforce this power. It's time for Congress to stop letting a private corporation override federal law.

In Congress, I’ll use my position to enforce the Raker Act to help San Francisco establish a public utility. I'll oversee any deal to ensure our local leaders are treated fairly by PG&E and stop PG&E from price-gouging residents during the transition. I’ll also fight to bring in major federal investments so our new public utility can access cutting-edge infrastructure and clean energy technologies. We don’t have to keep living with ever increasing prices and worse service, but we need leaders who are willing to stand up to corporate greed. If you send me to Washington, I promise to be that leader.

Create real public safety

San Franciscans deserve clean streets, safe neighborhoods, and a justice system that treats everyone with dignity. And while San Francisco has made real progress on safety, we can still do more. No one should feel unsafe while walking to work, taking Muni, or going to the park. In cities across the world like Tokyo or Copenhagen, it’s amazing to see young children playing in the parks or taking public transit by themselves. It’s incredibly freeing both for children and their parents. I believe we should aim for that kind of freedom in San Francisco.

Too often, the conversation around crime gets reduced to a false choice: go back to the failed “tough on crime” playbook of the 1990s or ignore the real problems San Franciscans are facing everyday. I reject that choice entirely — the issues we face are complex, and they demand complex solutions.

We need well-rounded solutions that make our city safer without criminalizing poverty or turning a blind eye to harm. That means investing in alternative responders — mental health specialists, addiction counselors, and social workers — who can de-escalate crises and connect people to real help. I’ll work to ensure every federal public safety grant includes funding for this kind of response.

At the same time, San Francisco is short more than 500 police officers — a gap that forces police to triage calls, leaves critical situations unaddressed, and costs the city millions of dollars in overtime. I support rebuilding our police force with well-trained, community-minded officers who are equipped to respond without intimidation or excessive force. Public safety must be holistic: the right professionals responding to the right situations. Over time, this approach will help rebuild trust and create neighborhoods where everyone feels protected, respected, and safe.

That work can’t stop at the city level. We need national leadership to help repair the broken relationship between communities and law enforcement. In Congress, I’ll fight to demilitarize local police, reform qualified immunity, and require body cameras for any department receiving federal funds. Police can play a vital role in public safety — but they must be accountable to the people they serve.

Ban congressional stock trading

86% of Americans, including 87% of Republicans, want to ban members of Congress from owning or trading stocks. And it’s no wonder – over the last decade, Nancy Pelosi’s stock portfolio has outperformed even Warren Buffet’s. And on the Republican side, we see Congressmember Marjorie Taylor Greene made money by buying shares of Palantir days before Palantir was awarded an ICE contract – something she would have known about as she is on the committee that oversees ICE.

When Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House, she had the chance to pass legislation that would ban members of Congress from owning or trading stocks. She opposed it.

It doesn’t actually matter if members of Congress are actually trading stocks based on insider knowledge. The appearance of corruption has destroyed trust in Congress, and it’s one reason Donald Trump was able to win on a campaign to drain the swamp. As your Congressman, I will not only support legislation to ban members of Congress from owning or trading stocks – I will force a floor vote on it.

Normally, members of Congress cannot force floor votes easily – but there is a way to make it happen if the rank and file support is there. Any member of Congress can file a “discharge petition.” If 218 members of Congress sign the discharge petition, it forces a floor vote on the bill – circumventing the Speaker of the House. These have traditionally been used on issues that have overwhelmingly bipartisan issues – like the Civil Rights Act or the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. If elected to Congress, I will file a discharge petition to ban congressional stock trading on day one to force every member of Congress to go on the record on this overwhelmingly popular issue. We must end corruption in Congress if we want to save our democracy.

End money in politics

Money is the root of much evil in our politics. In my time working as Chief of Staff to AOC, I saw over and over again how money not only corrupted legislation, but the threat of upsetting donors kept members from ever wanting to take action – even action that was overwhelmingly popular in their districts. Members of Congress spend 6-8 hours a day “dialing for dollars” to bring in campaign donations – it is quite literally their main job.

We must overturn Citizens United to get rid of unlimited money in our politics, but we should move beyond that. We must create a publicly financed election system to end the role of big money in politics. Places like New York City, Seattle, Arizona and Maine have versions of this already. We can win this nationally because an overwhelming majority of Americans support limiting the influence of money in politics.

I have pledged to take no corporate or lobbyist PAC money in this campaign. I am spending my time talking to voters, not big donors and when in Congress, I will spend my days doing my job rather than dialing for dollars.

Empower workers

Our mobilization for World War II created unprecedented levels of new wealth in America by building a whole new industrial economy. When Roosevelt did this, he unequivocally stood by unions so that the wealth from this new economy would be shared, creating the middle class. Today, we see an unprecedented level of the wealth our economy creates going to the owners and shareholders instead of the workers, and this upward transfer of wealth is decimating our middle and working class. We must reverse this, especially as we embark on a mission to create vast amounts of new wealth by building a new, clean economy. As your Congressman, here is how I plan to make sure workers get their fair share of the prosperity they are building:

• Raise the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour over the next five years by passing the Raise the Wage Act
• Support every American’s right to join a union by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
• Promote sectoral bargaining — where workers across an entire industry negotiate wages and conditions together, not just at individual companies — to raise the wages of millions of Americans.
• Crackdown on wage theft — the most common form of theft in the United States — by making intentional and repeated wage theft a felony punishable with jail time.
• Guarantee every worker the legal right to bathroom, water, and rest breaks.

Make public college tuition-free

For most Americans, a college degree remains the best path to upward mobility and achieving the American Dream. Yet millions of Americans are forced to choose between forgoing college or taking on tens of thousands of dollars in student loans.

The skyrocketing costs of a college education don't just hurt students. When people pass up going to college or take on piles of debt, our whole country pays the price. We're facing growing shortages of nurses, teachers, engineers, and other professionals who require a degree to enter their field. We should encourage our brightest minds to pursue an education, not make it harder for them.

There is a shockingly straightforward solution to this problem: tuition-free public universities. California charged no tuition at public universities until the late 1970s. Many of our peer countries have tuition-free public universities. In Congress, I will support legislation making all public two and four-year colleges and trade schools tuition-free for all Americans. I'll also support expanding programs such as work-study and Pell grants to help students cover non-tuition expenses such as housing and books.

Our entire country benefits when we empower our fellow Americans to pursue a higher education. San Francisco needs a leader in Washington who is ready to fight to make sure that every San Franciscan has an opportunity to pursue a college degree regardless of their economic background.

Fund public schools

Today, education is a political battleground where our children are paying the price. Across the country, reading and math scores have dropped at an alarming rate. Less than half of fourth graders are able to read at a proficient level. In some areas, reading and math scores are at their lowest levels in 50 years. Class sizes keep getting bigger and some districts are even cutting their advanced curriculum courses. This is not a system that is working.

Parents and educators know this is an emergency, so why aren't our leaders in Congress acting like it? Republicans are busy banning books, targeting diversity programs, and gutting the Department of Education. Democratic leaders talk about defending public education, but even in blue states, education outcomes are worsening. Too many of our schools here in San Francisco are underfunded and understaffed.

I will fight to fully fund our schools, raise teacher pay, and improve learning outcomes. I will support our students by introducing legislation for new federal grants for tutoring, after-school, and summer learning programs. We also need to make sure that kids leave school with the tools they need to thrive in college or the workplace, which is why I will work to increase access to advanced studies courses and vocational training.

San Francisco’s kids deserve better. And kids across the country do, too. I’m running to make sure they get it.

Enshrine reproductive rights

Reproductive freedom is under attack across our country. In over 20 states, Republicans have passed extreme abortion bans, threatened access to birth control, and even jailed doctors. They won't stop there. Although we are lucky to live in a state that protects reproductive freedom, Trump’s Project 2025 made clear that the goal is a national abortion ban. We need leaders who are capable of fighting back against MAGA’s extreme anti-choice agenda.

Democrats in Congress had nearly 50 years to codify Roe v. Wade into law to protect reproductive freedom, but they never did. For too long, Democratic leadership relied solely on the Supreme Court to protect our fundamental civil rights. When Republicans captured the courts, they had no line of defense. The Democratic establishment’s failure to secure our fundamental rights left us all vulnerable to attack.

I will not make that mistake. I won't stand by while Republicans undermine basic human rights. It is every person's right to make decisions about their body and to choose if and when to have children. Those decisions certainly shouldn't be made by Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, or any other politician. In Congress, I promise to be a fierce defender of reproductive rights by:

• Codifying the rights given to women in Roe vs. Wade into law by passing the Women's Health Protection Act.
• Codifying the right to contraception introduced in Griswold Vs. Connecticut by passing the Right to Contraception Act.
• Allowing publicly funded insurance, such as Medicaid or Medicare, to pay for abortions by repealing the Hyde Amendment.
• Expanding Title X funding to ensure that low-income Americans have access to contraceptives and reproductive healthcare services.
• Repealing the Comstock Act, an obscure law from the 1870s that many Republicans want to use to institute a national abortion ban.

Welcome immigrants

Let me be clear: The Trump administration's immigration agenda is cruel, authoritarian, and profoundly un-American. ICE is a personal police force for Trump now full of masked agents in unmarked vehicles picking people up off the streets and disappearing them with no due process. Claiming this is about immigration is a farce.

Back in the 1970s, we were doing so much work, we actually had immigration offices around the world recruiting millions of people to come help build this country. That’s how my parents got here. My dad’s friend took him to one of these offices in Calcutta where a nice staffer pitched him on the American dream and got him to apply for a Visa right there on the spot.

I believe America is at its best when we are welcoming immigrants. We must create a nation that is hopeful, growing, and optimistic that believes immigrants should come here to help build our country together.

Some Democrats in Congress have given up on this dream. They say that the political costs of fighting for it are too high. Not me. I am ready to fight tooth and nail against the president's authoritarian policies and stand up for our nation’s values.

In Congress, I will stand up to President Trump’s authoritarian immigration policies. I'll vote to repeal dangerous laws like the Alien Enemies Act that the administration uses to detain and deport people without trial. I’ll rein in ICE by making it illegal to detain people at courthouses and use Congressional oversight powers to investigate ICE for civil rights abuses. We need a fighter in Congress who will protect sanctuary cities like San Francisco from federal intimidation and ensure families aren't torn apart by deportation.

However, we can’t just settle for playing defense against the Trump administration’s racist agenda. We need new leaders who will follow through on their promise to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We need immigration reform that expands legal immigration pathways, reunites separated families, and treats asylum seekers with the dignity they deserve.

I will never give up on defending immigrant communities. I will always stand up for the right to come to this country legally, build a life, and contribute to our national future — just like my family did.

End the wars

We need to stop bombing and sanctioning countries every chance we get. We’ve destroyed our standing with the world and our unhinged foreign policy is leading us to ruin. We need to have a complete change in our foreign policy to become one where we follow international law and do business with other countries instead of coercing them. We should be doing the modern day version of the Marshall Plan, except this time to help developing nations create their own clean, sustainable, and prosperous economies — that would be a win-win for the United States and the world.

I’ve also been a vocal critic of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, as well as the race to war with Iran. If elected, I’d be a vote to end all military aid to Israel.

I believe Congress—not the president—should decide when America goes to war. I support repealing outdated Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) and backing legislation like the National Security Powers Act to end forever wars, close legal loopholes, and make sure no president can unilaterally drag the U.S. into conflict.

Protect the LGBTQ+ community

From the Compton Cafeteria Riots, to Harvey Milk, to being one of the first cities to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, San Francisco has been at the forefront of the LGBTQ+ movement for generations. Anyone who wants to represent San Francisco in Congress has the sacred duty to be a national leader and fierce defender of LGBTQ rights, and I promise to fulfill that duty every day.

There is no secret that this is a particularly tough time for the LGBTQ+ community. The Trump administration has launched a systematic hate campaign to demonize LGBTQ+ Americans, especially the transgender community, to divide America. A lot of people I talk to are understandably scared. But if there is one thing I know about San Francisco is that it turns out for its people, especially during trying times. With the right leadership in Congress, I know we can beat back the wave of hate the Trump administration is pushing.

In Congress, I promise to be a fierce advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and dignity. I'll fight to pass the Equality Act, which would finally ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, education, and public accommodations. I'll push back against any federal attempts to target transgender students or restrict their participation in school activities. And I'll work to ensure that our schools remain safe havens where LGBTQ students and educators can thrive without fear of harassment or discrimination.

As a national leader in the Democratic Party, I will fight to put a stop to the current absurd wave of scapegoating of trans people for the party’s election losses.

San Francisco has always stood up for those who others try to tear down. I'm running for Congress to make sure that legacy continues. I want every LGBTQ+ American to know they have a fighter in Washington who will never stop advocating for their rights, their safety, and the freedom to live their lives.

Fix inequality and the national debt with a wealth tax on billionaires

From 1975 to 2023, the balance of incomes have been shifted from the bottom 90% to the top 10% of income earners to the tune of $79 trillion dollars — with the vast bulk of that going to the top 1% of the top 1%. This was accomplished by breaking unions, subsidizing big business and financial speculation, creating massive tax loopholes for the rich and reducing their overall taxes, shipping high-wage industries overseas, and many other strategies. This is nothing short of class war — waged by a few of the very richest people in our society against everyone else.

There is perhaps no better example of this massive “reverse Robinhood” wealth transfer than our government’s response to the 2008 financial crisis — under both Republicans and Democrats. After Wall Street got carried away with reckless speculation on an unprecedented scale, the leaders of both parties literally bailed out Wall Street’s biggest losers while millions of ordinary Americans lose their homes and life savings — a national trauma that created the Tea Party and set the stage for Trump’s rise.

Incredibly, nearly all of the CEOs and other leaders who led our economy to ruin not only kept their jobs but were rewarded with trillions of dollars of support from the government. But on a much larger scale, our government’s deliberate policy of reinflating asset prices across the board to get the casino economy rolling again had the effect of doubling the portfolios of America’s richest — and doubling them again. All of that was underwritten by ordinary Americans who are on the hook for the trillions of additional dollars of national debt and Fed liabilities that we’ve taken on to repeatedly bail out Wall Street and keep asset prices inflated. And now, with Trump’s budget, we are witnessing yet another historic transfer of wealth from the working and middle class to the very richest in our society as he cuts Medicaid and food stamps to fund tax cuts for the rich.

The resulting extreme debt and inequality created by all of those policies is strangling our public services and corroding the fabric of our society and local communities on every level.

It’s time to start righting these wrongs. In Congress, I will fight to reestablish fair taxes on the richest. And I will work to start a national conversation about instituting fair and reasonable taxes on the wealth of billionaires and centimillionaires.

This is an intensely personal issue for me. I grew up in a middle class first-generation immigrant family in Fort Worth, Texas, attending public schools. We had everything we needed, but money was tight. I never imagined that I would become wealthy myself. After I helped build the payment processing company Stripe, I became a centimillionaire — at least on paper — myself. For me, it was a shocking and weird experience, and of course I feel incredibly lucky. But it’s also given me a window into how wealth inequality works in America and just how unfair it is. I’ve seen how, thanks to our rigged casino economy, the rich get richer without lifting a finger while everyone else struggles to hang on to what they have.

Did I work hard at Stripe? Sure. But did I work harder than a teacher at SFUSD or a nurse at UCSF? No way. Do I think people should be rewarded for starting great companies? Absolutely. But should our economy be organized as a winner-take-all battle for survival? Absolutely not. A society that works like that, where you either hit the lottery and get rich or you’ll never be able to afford a house or a secure retirement, is crazy. And unless we change it, America is doomed to fail.

In Congress, I’ll fight to reverse inequality and make our tax system more fair in any way I can, including by supporting the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act proposed by Elizabeth Warren and Pramila Jayapal. This bill creates a wealth tax on the top 0.05 percent of American households by having them pay 2 cents for every dollar of wealth over $50 million, and 3 cents for every dollar of wealth over $1 billion.

I will also fight to reverse the Trump tax cuts and end tax loopholes that allow the wealthy to avoid paying estate taxes. Creating a fair tax system will not only reverse the decades of wealth transfer from the working and middle class to the ultra-rich, it will allow us to fund programs like universal healthcare, universal childcare, and public transit.