Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us that public policy is a moral act. What we choose to fund — and what we choose to cut — reveals who we value and who we leave behind.

 Right now, working families in Nevada and across America are feeling the consequences of those choices. Prices are rising. Wages are stretched thin. Too many people are working full-time and still falling behind. This is not an abstract talking point — it is the reality for many Nevadans and Americans who are just trying to get by.

At this difficult moment, President Trump and Congressional Republicans have made their priorities clear. They have doubled down on tax breaks for billionaires while cutting essential programs working families depend on. They have rolled back civil rights protections, weakened voting rights enforcement, slashed access to health care, and gutted worker safeguards — all while imposing reckless tariffs that are driving up the cost of everyday goods.

The result is an affordability crisis that is squeezing households from every direction.

 As the Representative for Nevada’s Fourth District — one of the most diverse districts in the nation — I see it every day. Las Vegas runs on service workers, small business owners, caregivers, entrepreneurs, and tipped workers who power our hospitality and tourism economy. Yet too many of these families are locked out of the prosperity they help create. Housing costs and rents have risen faster than wages. A recent analysis showed that Las Vegas residents now need dramatically higher incomes just to afford rent, highlighting the growing affordability gap that is outpacing wage growth.  

At the same time families are struggling, this administration is attempting to rewrite history.

Recently, President Trump claimed that civil rights-era protections left white Americans “very badly treated.” That claim is false — and dangerous. The civil rights movement did not take opportunity away from anyone. It expanded opportunity so that everyone could finally compete on a level playing field.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation and banned discrimination in schools, jobs, housing, and public life. The Voting Rights Act protected the right to vote for millions of Americans who had been systematically denied a voice in our democracy. That was not favoritism. That was justice.

Yet today, the promise of equal opportunity is slipping away as this administration weakens civil rights enforcement, undermines voting rights protections, and dismantles programs designed to level the playing field. We are not correcting history — we are repeating it.

 The consequences are measurable. In 2016, the median white family held more than ten times the wealth of the median Black family, a gap driven by redlining, predatory lending, and decades of exclusion from homeownership and wealth-building. Economists estimate this divide could cost the U.S. economy up to $1.5 trillion in lost growth over the next decade.  

This inequality does not just harm Black families. It weakens our entire economy.

Dr. King understood that economic justice and racial justice are inseparable. Freedom is incomplete without access to opportunity, security, and ownership.

 That is why it is not enough to oppose a harmful agenda. We must offer a governing vision that shows how we actually live up to Dr. King’s dream.

 Dr. King believed justice is not self-executing. It requires leadership, policy, and political will. Honoring his legacy means building an economy rooted in dignity, fairness, and opportunity — one that centers working families, small businesses, and communities that have been locked out of the American Dream for far too long.

That work begins with three clear priorities: lower costs, raise pay, and protect America’s future.

First, we must lower costs for working families. That means protecting affordable health care by extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, lowering prescription drug prices, and defending Medicaid. It means tackling the housing crisis by expanding affordable housing, holding corporate investors accountable, and making homeownership attainable again — especially in fast-growing states like Nevada, where housing costs have outpaced wage growth.  

Second, we must raise pay and expand opportunity. Dr. King believed that work should come with dignity — and dignity starts with fair wages. That is why I am fighting to eliminate taxes on tips and end the subminimum wage that traps service workers in unfair pay structures. Tipped workers are the backbone of Nevada’s economy, and they deserve to keep more of what they earn. We must strengthen worker protections, invest in good-paying jobs, and ensure our economy rewards work — not just wealth.

Finally, we must protect America’s future. Fiscal responsibility means investing in people, not abandoning them. It means protecting Social Security, Medicare, SNAP, and the programs families depend on. It means rejecting tax schemes that reward billionaires while raising costs for everyone else. And it means standing up to policies like Donald Trump’s tariffs that are driving up prices on everyday goods and making life more expensive for families in Nevada and across the country.

We cannot build a just economy on a foundation of inequality. We cannot grow prosperity by leaving millions behind.

Dr. King called for a revolution of values. Today, that revolution means choosing people over profits, workers over Wall Street, and families over special interests.

The American Dream is not dead — but it is under threat. If we lead with courage, invest with purpose, and govern with values, we can revive it — for Nevada, and for the nation.

That is how we honor Dr. King’s legacy: building an America of equal opportunity, shared prosperity, and dignity for all.