Letters To the Editor

Touted as the "first" in the county, it surely will lead to a series of free lunches, transportation services, security details, additional school staffing, higher energy bills and related bureaucracy at other needy school clusters in the county. And there are many. Weast has sanctioned the use of many of his elementary schools for the Montgomery Cares taxpayer-funded health clinics targeted at the growing Hispanic . . . population. With our hospitals on the brink of financial ruin due to overuse by nonpaying residents, plans are underway to expand Montgomery Cares to multiple county high schools to combat the poor health of the immigrant population and serious risk of spreading diseases to the general population.

Is there a better way? Earlier this year, Leggett, Knapp and the rest of the County Council worked closely with Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Annapolis to solve our state and county budget problems. The result: the largest tax increases in Maryland history at a time when our national economy is shedding jobs. Instead of developing an environment in Montgomery County in which citizens can find employment and affordable housing, pay for their medical care and feed their families, our elected officials are going to "help us" every step of the way.

Our young people should not grow up expecting government handouts as a given. County government statements regarding "creating a services model for students that will improve school performance by breaking down institutional barriers, reducing educational and social disparities and addressing issues associated with the impact of poverty" is mere rhetoric typical of a self-perpetuating, tax-dollar-hungry bureaucracy. Hand a man a fish, and he eats for one day; teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.

Brad Botwin

Director , Help Save Maryland

Rockville