1955: Senator Cory Booker on Taxes, Childcare and Big Ideas to Fix Our Economy

What It Covers

Senator Cory Booker joins So Money to outline his Keep Your Pay Act — eliminating federal income tax on the first $75,000 of earnings — while addressing childcare costs, the racial wealth gap, immigration enforcement, media consolidation, corporate monopolies, and the financial consequences of the U.S.-Iran military conflict.

Key Questions Answered

• •Tax Relief Math: The Keep Your Pay Act eliminates federal income tax on the first $75,000 of individual income. A household earning $150,000 with two children would retain approximately $10,000 more annually. New Jersey's median taxpayer would see roughly an 85% effective tax cut, with expanded child tax credits and earned income tax credits layered on top.
• •Childcare as Economic ROI: The U.S. spends nothing on childcare during the years when 85–90% of brain development occurs — conception through age five. High-quality childcare costs more than local college tuition yet measurably improves lifetime earnings for children who receive it. Booker frames federal childcare investment as a return-on-investment decision, not a social spending debate.
• •Food Subsidy Reallocation: 93% of U.S. agricultural subsidies currently fund ultra-processed foods; only 7% support fruits and vegetables. Redirecting subsidies toward fresh produce — and restricting SNAP benefits from purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages — could reduce national healthcare costs, as demonstrated by a Las Vegas casino operator who lowered employee health costs by overhauling cafeteria food.
• •Immigration's Economic Multiplier: Legal immigration pathways are so restricted that the conservative Cato Institute calls obtaining legal status equivalent to winning a lottery. Booker argues tripling or quadrupling legal immigration channels — for both agricultural workers and STEM graduates — generates a measurable economic multiplier effect, while current ICE enforcement is reducing business patronage in affected communities by 5–30%.
• •Corporate Concentration Costs: Vertical integration in healthcare — where a single insurer now controls physicians, pharmacy benefit managers, and pharmacies — artificially inflates costs. Similarly, media mergers reduce content output and raise subscription prices. Booker connects antitrust enforcement directly to household budgets, arguing breaking up monopolies in healthcare and media is a concrete cost-reduction strategy for working families.