BLOOMFIELD - Kitchen table issues are more pressing if you're really at a kitchen table.

Cory Booker knows that and Monday morning found the state's senior senator sitting in the kitchen of a home on Broad Terrace owned by Ray Endaja.

Booker was there to announce plans to make the first $75,000 of family income tax-free. He said that would save Endaja, a sales manager by profession, about $7,600.

Booker, who seldom shys away from the dramatic, said:

"This is the fight in America right now."

He meant the struggles of working and middle class Americans.

Joining Booker at Endaja's home were a handful of other New Jerseyans struggling to make ends meet. One woman spoke of the angst of trying to decide what to pay first - the mortgage or the next car payment.

Affordability in the U.S is a big issue.

Booker said a lot of ideas out there nibble around the edges.

Not his. He said he wants to go "big."

He said his plan would reduce the federal tax burden by about 85 percent for most people by levying no taxes on all income up to $75,000. As of now, the lowest bracket of 12 percent kicks in on about $12,000 in income.

The senator said his plan would make other changes to compensate for the loss of revenue. A release says:

"(The) proposal would be fully paid for by closing unfair tax loopholes used by the ultra-wealthy and big corporations and requiring them to pay their fair share. This will include - raising the corporate tax rate, strengthening the corporate tax rules, increasing taxes on stock buybacks, tightening limits on executive compensation deductions, and other measures to return fairness to our tax system."

The corporate tax rate - now 21 percent - was reduced from 35 percent in the first Trump Administration.

The senator said he also wants to raise the top rate, which is now 37 percent, to 41 percent.

Broadly speaking, Booker said the Democratic Party needs to get back to "being the party of working people."

Donald Trump made inroads with blue collar Americans during the three times he's run for president. Whether that continues remains to be seen.

As his second stint in the White House moves along, the president's economic policies have not been popular, according to most polls.

Booker admitted that what he is proposing is anything but a quick fix. He acknowledged that Democrats would have to win control of Congress this fall for his plan to pass. And even if that happens, Trump probably would not sign it.

So this is a plan that is three years away. Booker was undaunted, saying "big" ideas are needed.

The talk of thinking big prompted a question about any "big" plans Booker may have - like running for president in 2028. He did run in 2020, but never gained traction.

He sidestepped the question, saying he was only thinking about 2026 and his Senate reelection bid.