Its a fiasco and a crisis. Who will pay the price for Maggie’s mismanagement of the day care subsidy? The kids who are forced into substandard day care, casual care by a neighbor or family member while the parent is working a sub-standard job that doesn’t pay a living wage and pays less than private day care costs, that’s who.

Why is this happening? The Republicans can spin this until Christmas but the reality is this (and I KNOW because was there and this was my issue) the County Administration lead by Maggie Brooks, refused to spend all the day care money. They always danced that linguistic dance of words  — no there is not nor ever was 8 million in “surplus”. There was just 8 million sitting in an account that was something else, a “non-surplus” perhaps. For 5 years over 5 budget I and other Democrats put in amendments to increase the eligibility for the subsidy, to increase rates to providers, add children. Each year we were rebuked, no we can’t do that, we don;t have the funds. We would say, hey how about this use some of the 8 million in “non-surplus”. Always the same answer — “oh we don’t really have a surplus” “oh, its money we have to see what happens”  “oh its money from last year”  One BS response after another no matter what argument.

The reality is that the 8 million was in the budget for all to see. And now the state has done exactly what every child care advocate and we were afraid they would do - said wait you have a surplus, use that money for your day care subsidy.

Now Maggie is up there blaming the State when she created this problem. You might say how did this happen? — Is it incompetence? Is it politics?

At the end of the day it boils down to this: one of the biggest problems with Maggie Brooks and the gang of Repbulicans in the Legislature is their unbelievable unwillingness to look at anything from any angle other than their own. A box has 4 sides but they say no it doesn’t it has one side theirs. That is how they operate government, as if it is a one sided box. I used to think it was all about politics. This proves that its worse, its their own arrogance in their self righteous belief that they alone have the answers and they alone are right.

Except for in this case were they were wrong. Their one sided box collapsed. And kids are at stake. What’s next?