Ferriday &8212; When elected officials speak, depending on the matter, most listen.

When Louisiana&8217;s Fifth District Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, spoke Monday at the Ferriday Chamber of Commerce meeting on the nation&8217;s current issues, people agreed.

&8220;I try to come here every weekend to talk to people and hear their concerns,&8221; Alexander said to the gathering in Concordia Bank. &8220;And I like to come and update the people on what&8217;s going on.&8221;

Alexander spoke on several topics headlining daily newspapers, including immigration, economic concerns and politicians approval ratings among other things.

&8220;There is not an issue more volatile or political than the immigration issue.&8221; Alexander said. &8220;It&8217;s not the people who are working illegally it&8217;s the men who are crossing the borders at night with guns and drugs. We will deal with the ones who want to work, but we have to stop the others.&8221;

Alexander viewed the immigration problem as one that is getting out of hand. He said steps to solutions must be pursued and the United States citizens must &8220;cut the water off before we can fix the leak.&8221;

Alexander also spoke on the issues the state of Louisiana is facing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

&8220;I don&8217;t have to tell you the state of Louisiana is in a bind,&8221; Alexander said. &8220;People were forced to leave their homes and live in other areas. Some we will have to help, some we will have as neighbors from now on.&8221;

Overall he said the state of Louisiana was &8220;hobbling along pretty good.&8221;

Another issue receiving national attention that Alexander spoke on was the ongoing war and the costs of maintaining a military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

&8220;We spend one billion dollars a week in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is good but expensive,&8221; Alexander said.

He talked of the money in the ongoing rebuilding efforts and the effects the spending has on the popularity of the president.

&8220;The president&8217;s numbers (approval) are down, but so are people&8217;s numbers in all elected positions,&8221; Alexander said. &8220;I think the president has lost control of some of the things going on (in the United States) but not the war.&8221;

The talk of the success in Iraq and the money being spent slid the presentation into a brief on the economy, which Alexander said is better than ever.

&8220;We need to be concerned with hearing good things in the news such as the low inflation increases, economic growth, low unemployment levels and the increase of homeowners,&8221; Alexander said. &8220;This is the best economy we have ever had in the United States, where more people are working today than we have had in the history of the United States.&8221;

Economic growth is booming, and the need to lessen restrictions and regulations on businesses in the United States is important if the country wants to continue to be a frontrunner country, Alexander said.

He also said the most common concern was the need to quit out sourcing and go back to making products in the United States.

&8220;Litigation, taxation and regulation have driven businesses away from the U.S.,&8221; Alexander said. &8220;We want to continue with our standard of living, but we need to change the way we do business.&8221;

Our business tactics, Alexander said, contribute to other countries and the ability they have to &8220;gain on us,&8221; because we don&8217;t give companies the incentive to locate in the United States.

&8220;We cannot ignore the fact that other countries are gaining on us,&8221; he said. &8220;We have caused a lot of the problems we are encountering today.&8221;

Overall, Alexander said he thought state of the world and the situations it constantly finds itself in would be OK.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland and Ridgecrest Mayor Guy Lain showed their appreciation by thanking him on behalf of the crowd.

&8220;I think it&8217;s wonderful the person we elected and sent to Washington stays in contact with the people,&8221; said Lain, the chamber president.