Our council members’ press releases aren’t as effective as psychedelics. As I read them, I get detached from reality about only 50% of the time. Those with experience tell me psilocybin mushrooms foster that effect 100% of the time.
So it was on October 2 when I received a press release from CMs Dawn Luedtke and Laurie-Anne Sayles announcing their hosting of a community meeting in Montgomery Village to discuss plans for a recreation center.
What is the motivation for a new recreation center in Montgomery Village?
Communities with convenient access to recreation space and opportunities have proven economic success and well-being.
Dunno, could be. I looked at a few research papers on the topic, and for some reason a community center isn’t on the top of anyone’s list for promoting economic success. Specifically, in a blog post State policies to promote shared prosperity in cities from the center-left Brookings Institution, the authors identify the three most critical components that greatly influence people’s access to economic success:
- Creating and preserving affordable rental housing.
- Attracting and growing quality jobs.
- Helping workers obtain the skills they need.
Free markets provide all of these; just read any history book written in the past 300 years. But for those readers who still believe that the government should provide these goods and services, we know that a) the county’s record on supplying affordable rental housing is abysmal and will only get worse; and b) the only thing our county does worse than housing is attracting and growing quality jobs. (Montgomery College does help workers obtain skills, but there is a limit to the number of phlebotomy technicians MoCo can absorb.)
Why are Luedtke and Sayles promoting a project that will do almost nobody in Montgomery Village any good? Why don’t they work on policies and legislation that promote affordable housing and attract marquis employers for Montgomery Village’s residents?
My guess is because they either can’t or they won’t. Maybe they can’t because the few voters who elected them won’t let them work for an underserved Montgomery Village. Maybe they can’t because they don’t accept the math housing + jobs = human welfare.
The only thing they apparently can offer upcounty residents is continued stagnation and community centers. It’s a very fair bet that in 2026, after their first terms in office, Sayles and Luedtke (both supposedly vouchsafed with upcounty’s interests) will leave Montgomery Village as impoverished as when they found it.
