Congressman Tiffany visits with Medford high school students

Congressman Tom Tiffany visited the Medford Area Senior High School on Thursday January 27.

Students were seated in the school’s Red White Theater as Tom Tiffany answered and discussed letters that were sent by sophomores. Teacher Corey Nazer invited Rep. Tiffany to the school.

Nazer said that his reason for inviting him was because this was a way not only for students to meet him but also to have an in-person means of responding to some of the letters the students sent.

Nazer said that in two years, his students would be old enough to vote so he wanted them to be much better equipped to make an informed, confident decision.

One of the topics of discussion was on climate change. Tiffany said that he agreed that climate change does happen naturally. What he disagreed with is the idea that going to alternative energy and stopping the use of fossil fuels, will stop climate change. He said he considered himself a skeptic in regards to that. Another thing he was skeptical of were projections of global temperatures rising by three to five degrees by the year 2050 or 2100. Which would have catastrophic impacts on earth.

He spoke against switching alternative energy. That this drastic change could not happen in such a short amount of time. People say that this has to happen in the next decade but Tiffany does not believe that this is true. That we need to make sure that we don’t cause too much harm as a result of switching.

He also referenced an article from 1975 and Newsweek magazine. It talked about how global cooling is going to lead to devastation on planet earth. He says that was also based on projections and models. Now there are people who are saying the opposite.

Student Brayden Books sent a letter on raising the minimum wage. Books said that he noticed that in some places, the minimum wage is $5.15. He thought that people can’t support themselves without having extra help. He asked about raising to $15 per hour as some people have proposed.

Tiffany said the minimum wage in Wisconsin is $7.25 an hour. Tiffany stated that he does not believe in the mandate to move the minimum wage. He argued that the minimum wage is moving via the marketplace. That most companies are already raising their wages because they’re finding it very hard to find new employees.

“I think the minimum wage as mandated by government has really become irrelevant,” Tiffany said.

Another student asked if increasing the minimum wage contributes to inflation? Tom Tiffany says yes there can be a case made for that.

During the talk there was also discussion about the rise in prices for many different items like food products. One of the students thought that maybe the stimulus checks that were given may have caused some inflation. This student argued that those stimulus checks should have only been sent out to the people who needed it. Tiffany agreed.

Affordable housing was also discussed, where a student sent a letter saying that the houses in Medford were too high in price. That her mother could not find a house to rent because she was paid so little working as a waitress. Tiffany responded by saying that the cost of building a home has really skyrocketed. That the price of materials for housing has gone up over the last few years. He also said that 25% of the cost of building a home is simply regulations.

Based on the National Home Builders organization estimates. Tiffany said that part of the reason he got into politics is because he believes there should be less government involvement.

Of course one of the things that was discussed and talked about heavily was COVID-19. Not directly but many of the letters sent were topics that were caused by COVID-19. Like the vaccine and mask mandates. Tiffany said he believed that students should not be forced to wear masks or have vaccines. He said children are more likely to be affected by the common cold than COVID-19. It has not been proven that the mandates actually help kids. What was also discussed was the vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.

A student said that they should not be forcing healthcare workers to take something they don’t want to. Tom Tiffany mentioned that many who work in healthcare are leaving. He says that if you are an adult, it’s your choice whether to be vaccinated or not. He does not believe in the mandates.

In addition to visiting with the sophomore class members, Tiffany also visited with science classes talking about intellectual property rights.

Medford sophomore Jayda Jones (left) asked Rep. Tom Tiffany (right) about efforts to change the standards for military service to allow people who have cochlear implants to be pilots. She was born deaf and had the implants done at age 3. Jones said she dreams of serving in the Air Force.

The Advanced skating team placed second in their division at the 2022 Badger State Games. They are the most advanced skaters in the Medford Figure Skating Program. They are as follows (l. to r.): Bottom row Lizzy Schultz, Myah Smith, Hailey Strama. Back row, Jaylin Machon, Marcy Razink, Ruthie Steinman, Trinity Greuneberg, and coach Krista Gollhardt.SUBMITTED

The Perfect Match Synchronized Skating Team placed second in their division at the 2022 Badger State Games held last weekend in Wausau.Pictured are (l. to r.): Raylin Rothmeier, Marcy Razink, Ruthie Steinman, Riley Clark. Back row, Coach Karli Nelson, Jaylin Machon, Corinne Schroeder, Hailey Strama, Nicole Schroeder, and coach Andrea Hartwig.SUBMITTED