Walberg meets with locals

Eco­nomic success and frus­tration over media cov­erage were just two topics dis­cussed Monday as Tim Walberg, U.S. Rep­re­sen­tative for Michigan’s 7th Dis­trict, met with con­stituents at the Hillsdale County Chamber of Com­merce.

“It’s good to be with you, it’s always good to be in Hillsdale,” Walberg said. “I sure enjoyed having the oppor­tunity to be with the chamber here.”

The event was ini­tiated by the office of the con­gressman and then coor­di­nated by Eric Potes, a member of the Board for the Hillsdale County Chamber of Com­merce.

“We thought it would be a great way for people to network and for us to hear about what’s going on,” Potes said.

Before arriving at the Chamber of Com­merce office, Walberg visited with con­stituents at the Hillsdale County Fair. He also met with busi­nesses all across his dis­trict, including Cobra Motor­cycles, a Hillsdale-based motor­cycle dealer, and a local dairy farmer.

Walberg dis­cussed recent success in Wash­ington that will have lasting effects on the State of Michigan. He men­tioned eco­nomic growth in Michigan, record low unem­ployment rates, health care, trade, and finally the impact of tax cuts and “Tax Cuts 2.0” which Walberg says will help small busi­nesses.

During Walberg’s con­ver­sation with con­stituents, Craig Connor, pres­ident of Hillsdale County National Bank, described his dealings with the tax cuts.

“At our bank we are doing so much better because of that tax cut and the savings are being passed on to share­holders in form of div­i­dends,” Connor told Walberg, “employees are doing better and the bank’s earnings are doing better. That concept that the tax cut will be paid for I think is valid.”

Con­stituent Richard Moore said that some of his con­cerns are focused on safety and defense, as well as assuring that tax dollars return to Michigan, specif­i­cally in regards to infra­structure in Hillsdale. Moore said that Walberg’s message on the economy res­onated with him, “but we need to get the word out there, because the general public doesn’t get that news,” Moore said.

Walberg expressed his equal frus­tration with news outlets like “Fox News” and “CNN.” He called for a free and fair press.

“They are not talking about what really impacts the cit­izens and what has taken place all across the board,” Walberg said. “I believe in a free press, that’s the beauty of America; we could have dif­ference of opinion, but we don’t have dif­ference in facts.”