JEFF BRIDGES

ON

CHILD HUNGER

I always enjoy passing along comments on today's issues from unusual sources, rather than the same old talking heads.

Last December, I brought you some powerful comments on the quiet explosion of inflation in the United States over the last two decades from the legendary Ritchie Blackmore. Imagine, a guitar hero making more sense, and relevant observations, than any panel of economists I've heard in recent times. And recognizing - as I've only heard Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee point out - the struggle of those living paycheck-to-paycheck ("the people who carry the bags and serve the meals," as Gov. Huckabee so correctly put it) in America today.

So today, I'd like to bring you a speech quite relevant to Montgomery County. Jeff Bridges, one of my favorite actors and one of the best of all time, recently gave a speech on child hunger in America.

Based on my experiences in the county elections this year, it is a speech that many residents of our county need to hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkTPgexN8XM

One of the moral outrages of this year's election season was the utter lack of discussion of education in Montgomery County. I am shocked but proud to have been the only candidate talking about early education and MCPS funding at every one of the few candidate forums held. Imagine, a Republican who wants to spend more money on education than every Democrat running for office in Montgomery County! That was - and still is - me.

Literally every other candidate favored significant reductions in funding for MCPS, in blatant violation of state law.

Not only am I in favor of full Maintenance of Effort funding for Montgomery County Public Schools, but I also promoted the expansion of serving the most vulnerable young people through county facilities like schools and recreation centers.

In contrast, the County Council was busy slashing those programs and closing those facilities, while preserving full funding in the budget for developers, government employees, and politically-connected nonprofits.

Dr. Jerry Weast has done a great job of starting us in this direction with his meal programs offered through MCPS. Those can be further expanded. But now that a set of politicians who aren't serious about the achievement gap have been (re)elected, who knows who we'll end up with as our next Superintendent, with those folks hand-picking Dr. Weast's successor?

County recreation centers shouldn't be cut back; they should be offering more programs. It is clear to me that we can offer the sort of programs needed to benefit poor children through county facilities. This will save a tremendous amount of money that is currently flowing to the councilmembers' favorite nonprofit contractors. We can address the nutrition, early education and technology gaps that create the "achievement gap" in this way.

At the same time, we need to slash a lot of inefficient, irrelevant and wasteful contracts in Health and Human Services, as I repeatedly said during the campaign. Why have a million afterschool programs of dubious benefit, when we can offer a smaller number of more relevant programs at your local county recreation facility? Working parents also need such programs where children can go after school and have adult supervision. Especially during tough economic times like these. And we need all-day Pre-K for every eligible child.

Yet this council will not do so. Instead, they are preparing a new round of cuts to MCPS, libraries, recreation centers, public safety, and basic maintenance functions while (guess what?) preserving full funding for developers, unions and nonprofits.

It's an outrage that many residents and elected officials apparently don't give a da[rn] about education, the achievement gap, hunger and poverty in Montgomery County.

You will hear the humorously-ironic sounds of rich people eating Filet Mignon during a speech on hunger, in the background. That probably makes it all the more appropriate for Montgomery County, where a majority of voters said, "let's keep going the way we've been going."