By Kimberly McMillian
Correspondent
DAYTON, Tenn. – Nearly 100 people attended a public forum in Dayton on Wednesday to hear U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., discuss the federal government’s increasing debt.
“We’re moving toward a crisis,” he said, saying the government should have a balanced budget rather than spending more than it has.
The nation now has $4.5 trillion in publicly held debt, Corker illustrated in a slide presentation.
He commended former President Bill Clinton’s administration for maintaining a surplus in government spending, as opposed to the Obama administration.
He commended state Rep. Jim Cobb, R-Spring City, for helping keep the state budget in check.
Cobb said the Legislature had made cutbacks across the state without tax increases, something he said he “refused to do.”
Corker said that an agreement needed to be made for an appropriate amount of federal spending.
“I was mayor of a city (Chattanooga) where we had to balance our budget,” he said. “We should not leave our children and grandchildren with this crippling debt.”
He also said he empathizes with those who are unemployed.
“I’m willing to sacrifice” to get a healthy economy back, he said. “I don’t even take my paycheck.”
Rhea County resident Jimmy Wilkey told Corker he really appreciated the work the senator was doing in Washington.
“If we’d put duty on imports and buy American products” things could improve, Wilkey said.
Corker told the audience that “what people in Rhea County care most about is raising their families in an appropriate way” and having jobs. He also advised small-business owners not to overextend themselves financially.
He answered residents’ questions and discussed a number of concerns before leaving for a stop in Knoxville.
Kimberly McMillian is based in Rhea County. Contact her at kdj424@bellsouth.net.