On Aug. 21, Vice President JD Vance visited Georgia. Vance first stopped in Atlanta to visit the Republican National Committee. At 2 P.M., Vance spoke at ALTA, a refrigeration company in Peachtree City, the company that manufactured refrigerators for Chick-fil-As based in Atlanta. 

Former Trail Editor-in-Chief Rebekah Bushmire went to the event and heard Vance speak. 

“There were hundreds of people waiting outside trying to get in. I also know that there were a bunch of people protesting too, and everyone is well within their own right to what they did today,” Bushmire said.

Bushmire was a summer intern for the Peachtree City Government’s communication department during the summer of 2023. 

“My mentor, Andre Walker, and I stayed in contact. He’s actually the one that dropped the tip to me that Vice-President Vance was going to be in Peachtree City. So I reached out to the Mayor, because the mayor and I have also stayed in touch after my internship, and she was open and willing to bring me as her guest,” Bushmire said. 

Peachtree City Mayor, Kim Learnard, has a background in manufacturing and has a long track record of supporting industries in Peachtree City. 

“The Vice President’s visit to ALTA Refrigeration highlighted the need to keep manufacturing jobs in Peachtree City and in Georgia. His visit shined a huge and positive spotlight on Peachtree City,” Learnard said. 

Vance discussed tax credits and bringing in more manufacturing jobs. He also spoke on the Working Families Tax Credit, which,  according to WJBF NewsChannel 6,  eliminates taxes on overtime and tips, expands the child tax credit and delivers what he called “the biggest tax cut for families this country has ever seen.”

“My older brother is a welder, and especially for blue collar workers, the no tax on overtime will most likely generate almost $10,000 more dollars going into his wallet,” Bushmire said. 

Congressman Brian Jack represents Georgia’s third Congressional District, and he spoke at the event as well. 

“Brian Jack spoke, which its obviously important because he is our representative for our district,” Bushmire said. 

Jack issued a press release, which included prepared remarks.

“I am honored to welcome Vice President Vance, Administrator Zeldin, and Administrator Loeffler to my hometown of Peachtree City. Today, we celebrated President Trump’s working families tax cuts and announced forthcoming relief for a job-killing Biden regulation that endangered 150 hardworking Georgians in our community,” according to that statement.

“[No tax on tips.] I think of that heavily for our school population, like McIntosh for example, plenty of McIntosh students have jobs. No tax on tips could be a life-changing thing for them in terms of saving up,” Bushmire said.