• Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero

LANSING - Local politicians participated in a national bus tour that stopped in Lansing in early October. The tour was organized by Americans United for Change and started in Manchester, N.H. and ended in McLean, Va. Lansing was the tenth of its 35 stops.

Americans United for Change is well known for challenging conservative Republican policies.

Jimmy Donofri, the group's Digital Director said they are advocating for policies that support the interests of the middle class.

"Right now, we have a congress that is doing nothing," he said. "We need people in Congress that are going to take votes and make legislation that actually gets things done and that includes raising the minimum wage which would impact twenty eight million people across this country. That means taking efforts to make college more affordable so that students aren't already drowning when they get out of school and get into the workforce."

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said he believes giving tax cuts to corporations hurts the economy.

"We believe the economy will strengthen from the bottom up," he said, "and the middle out and not the top down. You know there is a big difference, the Republican approach is that you give tax cuts to the wealthy and they will do things that make it rain on the rest of us. That it will trickily down to us. We believe you create opportunity at the bottom in the middle and the economy will grow out and grow up."

Bernero also spoke about reforms to education to reduce student debt such as tuition wavers, and options for public service such as Teach for America.

East Lansing Mayor Nathan Triplett also attended the event and spoke about tax distribution and economic inequality.

"Americans agree that its time for the 1 percent and big corporations pay their fair share in taxes," he said, "especially since income inequality is the highest it has been since 1928."

The bus made its last stop on October, 31, in Springfield, Ill.