Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is touring the country with the Vice President to win votes in what is shaping up to be one of the closest elections in years. On Thursday, he spoke to WCMU about hot-button issues impacting rural Michiganders, and residents across the state.
On reaching rural voters in red counties Walz said “I think the disconnect is trying to tell people that these policies that make a difference to them.” He mentioned the bipartisan infrastructure bill and its investments in Michigan and Harris’ proposed tenfold increase to tax deductions for start-ups as examples.
“Our communities don't need to be divided, there's those that want to tell us, urban and rural areas are different. This country is strong because of that diversity. The country’s strong because we invested in the middle class,” he said. “I think getting out to folks, talking to them, talking about the stuff we've done on rural economy, on farm economy, diversifying our energy needs, all of those things impact people's lives in a positive way.”
On farming, Walz addressed what he saw as middlemen profiting off the hard work of farmers. “I know this well, price of a bushel of corn’s $3.90, you can't make it on that. Soybeans are 10 bucks; 100 weight of milk is $21.90. Farmers are not getting rich on this, the middleman who's not adding to the value on this is,” he said.
“I think one of the things is markets only work when markets are fair. You’ve got to have guardrails around them, and I think the Vice President's proposing that. Making sure that our supply chains are back home, that they're better, and making sure that we're still continuing to have global markets.”
Walz said that Harris wasn’t proposing “anything that many of our states don't already do.” Saying this policy along with child tax credits, investments in public schools would help address prices.
Walz addressed the soaring housing costs across the nation by mentioning the campaign’s housing policies. Those policies would, among other things, build 3 million new houses and provide up to $25,000 dollars in down payment assistance to first-time buyers with two years of on-time rent payments.
“We see wealthier communities, with more money invested back into them. We see a broader tax base, which means lower property taxes for everybody,” he said on what the policy would do. “We don't need large venture capitalists buying up large stocks of homes and then jacking the prices up on them.”
Walz took time to discuss the Israel-Hamas war saying the attacks on October 7th, 2024, were a “horrific act.” He said Israel has a right to defend itself but decried the humanitarian condition in Gaza. “We can't allow what's happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty,” he said.
He called for a two-state solution and called for “the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction.”
“I think those folks who are speaking out loudly in Michigan are speaking out for all the right reasons. It's a humanitarian crisis. It can't stand the way it is,” he said. He called for a return of those hostages still in Gaza and a ceasefire.
