endure the detrimental impacts of bad trade policies and an unfair Farm Bill. Farmers I’ve talked with in our district have told me they don’t want aid, they just want to earn a livable income from their business. We should help them by passing legislation to conserve and protect our environment, provide access to credit and business training for small rural farms, invest in preparing the next generation of farmers in our community, and fund programs like SNAP and those incentivizing purchases at local farmer’s markets.” Responding to another resident who asked what Delgado will do about the national debt, he delivered one of his most popular answers of the afternoon. It came after he touched on some ideas about how to raise revenue and cut spending. “You then take that revenue and invest it in our people, invest it in infrastructure, invest it in better wages, invest it in much better school system and that investment pays for itself in a more productive economy from the bottom up,” he said to applause. Right before that, he said that it “wasn’t smart” to lower the top margin tax rate or to tax hedge fund managers less than working people. “We need to do things that make our tax system more equitable,” Delgado said. On the spending side, he cited a Pentagon report that showed the Department of Defense had found $250 billion in waste. Among those in attendance were Luis Alvarez, chair of the County Legislature, and legislators Ira Steingart and Mark McCarthy, whose district includes Livingston Manor. McCarthy said earlier today that he had never met Delgado before Saturday, citing each other’s busy schedules. “I gotta tell you I was duly impressed and I’m very excited that he’s our Congressman” McCarthy said. “He’s a bright guy and had tremendous in-depth knowledge of every question that was asked. What I really loved was the way he connected with people. He‘s a very personable, likable guy. And I’m pleased he wants to work with others. There’s enough divisiveness.’’ McCarthy, the former supervisor for the Town of Neversink where he lives, said he also liked Delgado’s focus on wanting to help the County and other rural areas of the district be fully connected to broadband. McCarthy, himself, suggested today that the federal government should change the law so that broadband
District 3 Legislator Mark McCarthy, center, with Antonio Delgado and a constituent
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