Georgia Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate David Perdue stopped by Port City Deli early Friday to speak about his plan for cutting debt and boosting the employment rate in the U.S.

“These people make jobs here,” Perdue said about Decatur County residents. “They produce opportunities for people to provide for their families. This is why I got in this race. There’s so much government intervention right now in small business that it’s really threatening our way of life.”

A Macon native and Georgia Tech graduate, Perdue’s platform emphasizes significantly reducing the national debt, a number that has reached more than $17 trillion, according to usgovernmentdebt.us.

Every household in America is worth $1 million of that debt, Perdue said.

“You look at this debt, the economy, we have fewer people working as a percentage right now in the U.S. since we’ve had since the depression,” Perdue said. “It is a crisis.”

Perdue’s history as a businessman includes serving as the former president and CEO of Reebok and the former CEO of Dollar General. In April 2011, he started a global trading firm in Atlanta.

Bringing his business experience to the table, Perdue said he plans to balance the budget by “cutting waste, eliminating redundancies and growing the economy,” according to Perdue’s website.

The only option for solving these issues is growing the economy, Perdue said.

“I think this debt situation that we have right now will get solved by the people we just met here, by getting business growing, getting our economy growing and cut this spending appetite back that we have in Washington,” Perdue said. “This is the backbone of our state and country.”

And according to Perdue, farmers are the state’s heart.

“Georgia’s farmers are the heart of our local economy,” he said on his campaign blog. “I deeply respect the values and enterprising spirit of Georgia’s farm families. The safe, affordable supply of food and fiber they provide to the rest of us is a vital component of our economic security. If given the privilege of representing the people of Georgia, I will make every effort to continue our state’s longstanding tradition of serving on the Senate Committee on Agriculture.”

Local farmer and Bainbridge City Councilman Phil Long said he appreciated Perdue appearing in Bainbridge.

“I think we need to get behind him,” Long said. “From the standpoint of getting a senator from Georgia on the Agriculture Committee is very positive for agriculture in Georgia, which is a big part of this state income, especially in rural areas.”

Perdue faces off against Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn in the November elections.