US Senator Bill Hagerty speaks at Jackson Rotary club

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ)

The economy was the big topic when Tennessee's junior senator spoke to the rotary club in Jackson today

“Inflation is something that as I said in this speech earlier that affects every American…because it hurts those of us that have the least the most. Whether it’s the price of gas at the pump or the price of chicken and beef at the grocery store, everybody is feeling this," said Senator Bill Hagerty.

While some saw higher wages in their paychecks in 2021, senator Hagerty says that inflation essentially caused wages to drop across the board.

The republican senator shared what he believes will fix the economy, "We’ve got to stop this war on the oil and gas industry in America, that will have an immediate impact on inflation, because it’s ripping through the economy.”

The senator says inflation has also been caused by the federal government's spending, “If you look at what happened back in March of this year, 1.9 trillion dollars was passed to dump into the economy that has a massively inflationary effect.”

One of the economic issues, Hagerty is working on is a solution to the automobile chip shortage, “Many of the supply chain issues have to do with our dependence on countries overseas… I passed a piece of legislation 10 days ago, 99 other senators joined me. 100 to 0 we passed legislation that would make the United States much more competitive for semiconductor manufacturers, for chip manufacturing.”

Tennessee's junior senator says the legislation is not controversial, so he expects it to pass the house and be signed by the president.

Hagerty did say there's reason to be optimistic about Tennessee's economic future: he says Ford's new plant and other economic growth is making Tennessee one of the most desirable places for industry and for living in the nation.