By Geri Corey

 

GOSHEN — “The most pressing task for government today is to strengthen the economy,” said Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, speaking to the business community at a recent Goshen Chamber of Commerce meeting.

 

Since 40 percent of the United States’ debt is owned by other nations with trillions of dollars owed to China, the United States is dealing with other nations in weakness, Hayworth stated.

 

Dealing with regimes and leaders openly hostile to the United States requires a strong economy, said Hayworth.

 

“With a strong economy, we can deal with threats," she said. "If we’re weak, we won’t be able to project strength — we’re more vulnerable. We need to be the strongest economy in the world.”

 

The Congresswoman’s goal when she ran for office in 2010 was to grow the economy and encourage small business owners to expand and hire. She wishes better strides were made.

 

“It’s still not friendly, not as fertile for enterprise as it should be; as it can be,” Hayworth said. Talking with businesspeople, Hayworth said, she heard how the burden could be lifted, especially in the area of income and payroll taxes. The need for starting the process for tax reform is great, she said, adding, “We need flatter and fairer taxes.”

 

Additionally, government regulations, often burdensome to small businesses, need to be eliminated, clearing the path for better, healthier business growth, said Hayworth.

 

With unemployment at 8.9 percent in Orange County, the highest rate since 1977, Hayworth is concerned about outsourcing jobs to other countries. But she said there is an agreement between parties to make it better.

 

“It’s important that we find common ground,” she said. “I work with Democrats all the time.”

 

Hayworth’s broad goal is to grow the economy by relieving pressure on employers, lowering taxes, relieving the burden of unreasonable regulations, and lowering energy costs, which hinges on relying on domestic sources or dealing with friendly nations, like Canada.

 

With so much of what we earn going to the government, “it owns more of out life than it should,” Hayworth concluded.

 

Nan Hayworth is a doctor of ophthalmology, beginning her solo practice in Mount Kisco in 1989. In 1996 she became a partner at Mount Kisco Medical Group. Her husband, Scott, is a physician, specializing in obstetrics/gynecology. They have two sons, Will, 20, a senior at Bard College at Simon’s Rock studying computer science and Jack, 18, a freshman at Johns Hopkins. The Congresswoman’s congressional district includes Orange and Putnam Counties and parts of Westchester and Duchess Counties.

 

This article was written by Geri Gorey, published in The Chronicle, and can be found here.