Michael Clinkscale is a Republican running for a seat on the City Council. Mr. Clinkscale takes a different and very constructive position toward helping the less fortunate in Alexandria. He believes that work is the answer to escaping poverty. I think Mr. Clinkscale would agree with President Franklin Roosevelt when Roosevelt said that “continued dependency upon relief induces spiritual and moral disintegration and is fundamentally destructive of the nation’s fiber.”
He wants to do away with subsidized housing and many government assistance programs.
At the same time Clinkscale wants to cut taxes and improve city schools by encouraging corporate sponsorship. He believes that if, with corporate or business involvement, the high school curriculum reflected more of the skills students need to get a good-paying job, students would graduate from high school with the skills corporations or workplaces needed. His focus is work, work so that people are responsible for their own lives, not dependent on others’ doing for them.
He notes the myriad of programs to help poor people yet we still have poor people. It’s not for a lack of money (although some would argue that money was the answer) but for a lack of personal responsibility or motivation.
I think Clinkscale’s moral reasoning would add needed balance to the City Council and urge you to vote for him on Nov. 6.
Linda Greenberg
Alexandria