U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan came to the latest Student Senate assembly meeting to speak to students and the senate about leadership development and issues that follow students throughout their college tenure.

The meeting on Jan. 23, was billed by Student Senate as a summit of campus leaders as Pocan’s main topic was to address leadership development. Pocan formerly a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and now a part of the U.S. Congress, came to Truax to say a few of his own words about his policies, and also to respond to questions that students and local residents had.

Most of the questions posed to Pocan were concerning the financial state of our country and how it is affecting our lives. Pocan’s major emphases mirrored those of the audience. He shared his deep concern for the poor economy of the U.S. and the lack of jobs that have come with it.

After just completing his first year in congress, Pocan stressed how important it is to pay attention to what it is we are doing to bolster the economy and create jobs. He said that initiatives such as supporting students, and raising the minimum wage are ideal places to start. He believes that more money to education leads to more jobs and that by raising the minimum wage the economy will improve. Pocan described “the ripple effect,” where money in people’s hands gets spent and in turn, the economy is improves the economy. This, in turn, puts more money in people’s pockets, he said.

A member of the audience brought up a statistic that could be disconcerting. They said more than half of the people in congress are millionaires. Pocan declared that he shared this concern. He emphatically stated that the people in congress could jeopardize their ability to advocate for the people in their district if they couldn’t actually relate to them and their lives. He said he wonders if Congress could truly represent the people if they were comprised of that many millionaires.

“We are removed from where the public is at,” Pocan said.

Pocan said he has some ideas for strengthening our economy. As Wisconsin is 37th in the nation in job creation, there are many state residents who agree with his initiatives, especially in the Madison area. Those ideas include increasing money for education and raising the minimum wage, which are hot-button topics nationally as well. Those might be a shot in the arm for Wisconsin, but time will tell.