Better Jobs and Pay

Work Shouldn’t Break You

My first job was as a paperboy. I rode my bike through the neighborhood each afternoon, tossing newspapers onto porches and getting to know the people who lived behind those front doors. Once a week, I’d go house to house, collecting their subscription money in person.

It taught me a lot. Responsibility. Showing up. Pride in earning something of my own.

What I didn’t understand then was that for a lot of adults, work doesn’t just bring pride.

It brings pressure.

I’m running for Congress because I believe work should support a life, not wear people down.

If you put in a full day’s work, you should be able to pay your bills, put food on the table, and still have time to rest and be with your family.

But that’s not how it is right now.

Pay hasn’t kept up. Costs keep rising. And people are being asked to do more just to stay in the same place.

Some are working two or three jobs just to get by. Others can’t find steady work at all. And too many of the best-paying jobs feel out of reach unless you already have the right connections or credentials.

That’s not a personal failure.

That’s a system out of balance.

Here’s what needs to change:

• Wages need to rise so that full-time work actually covers the basics

• Jobs need to offer stability, not constant uncertainty

• And people need real pathways into good-paying work, not just promises

Because this isn’t just about the economy. It’s about what work does to a family.

I’ve talked with parents who miss seeing their kids because they’re working nights. I’ve met people who can’t take a sick day without risking their job. I’ve seen how constant financial stress wears people down over time.

It affects health. It affects relationships. It affects hope.

As a pastor, I’ve sat with people who are doing everything they were told to do and still falling behind.

Not because they’re lazy.

Because the system isn’t working for them.

We can build something better.

We can raise wages. We can support jobs that actually provide stability. We can invest in industries that create real opportunity here in Arkansas, not just somewhere else.

But it starts with a simple idea:

Work should help you build a life.

Right now, for too many people, it just helps them survive.

And that’s not good enough.