Here at Clean Slate MoCo we are very cautious about discussing issues at the national level. I’m begging an exception for this post, because we have a confluence of policies at the national and local level that can only be considered a war against the poor. In May 2024 President Biden increased the tariff on…
One of the most amazing books I ever read is Poverty and Prosperity by the economist Deepak Lal. In that book, Professor Lal outlines how freeing the economic markets in India and China raised fully one-fourth of the entire world’s population out of crushing poverty and wealth inequality within 40 years. This book is so…
MoCo Councilmember “At Large” Gabe Albornoz (Democrat) really really wants you to know he was named “Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Legislator of the Year”. So much so that he begins his e-mail to tax-paying constituents about his award… and then continues the whole communication to residents talking about… this award. Here is another excerpt…
Always follow the money and the influencers. Oh, and the 501c3s, c4s, etc. The City of Takoma Park’s influence on MoCo government policy has been covered here before but a quick review of the 501c3 non-profit Old Takoma Business Association’s (OTBA) website provides more visual examples of what this tiny town (population 17,500) does with…
Dawson’s Market, a higher-priced grocer (actually the only grocery store) in Rockville Town Square is departing, after threatening the same action about six years ago because of quote “declining sales” back in 2019. Per Sebastien Kraft with MoCo360 Media: This isn’t surprising in the least. In fact, it goes to the heart of why government,…
Clean Slate MoCo and other opposition outlets hold paramount the responsibility and accountability for the county’s elected, appointed, and shadow leadership. Not everyone is comfortable taking the opposition outlets seriously, and for them there is the county’s Office of the Inspector General. The OIG is tasked with the following (source): Review the effectiveness and efficiency…
Council Member Andrew Friedson, the closest thing we have to a moderate and reformer on the County Council, recently introduced his JOBS (Jobs, Opportunities and Business Support) initiative. According to the press release, there are three components to JOBS: $10 million for job creation, offering $10,000 per employee paid $100,000 or more ($12,000 if in…
According to my count, Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations spans 360,586 words, or about 1,088 pages in a 12-point font. I read the entire work, comprehended about 324,527 (90%) of those words, and came to an important conclusion: the conservatives who praise Smith as a champion of unfettered economic freedom are as mistaken as the…
Quick reminder – Montgomery County Executive / “green energy” lobbyist Marc Elrich really likes corporate welfare. As long as it goes to the “right” industries”. Don’t be fooled by the redistribution rhetoric of the disheveled exec. The self-acclaimed “sorta socialist” and frequent respondent to the MoCo “Democratic Socialists of America” questionnaire during election season sure…
As Montgomery County still battles with every increasing inflation, a quick look at the Montgomery County Charter will show you how the Council Members have guaranteed themselves the ability to keep pace with inflation much better than a majority of the county. In Sec. 1A-106. Salaries of the County Executive and Councilmembers it states: This…