There have been more than a few lucky moments in the Spy’s nine years of existence but none more so than the serendipitous formation of a unique team of volunteer public affairs columnists who grace its pages every week. These highly respected leaders in their lifetime careers, gifted with intellect, imagination and passion, spanning from the political left to right, has been one of the most significant assets of our hyper-local and education-based news portals.
The commentaries of Howard Freedlander, Craig Fuller, George Merrill, David Montgomery, and Al Sikes have considerably enhanced our community’s civil debates on the most pressing issues of our times. And while the written word is their chosen medium, the Spy, a great believer in multimedia with now over 2,000 video productions, has been grateful that they have agreed to be interviewed as our country enters into one of its most important elections in recent memory.
We begin this series with economist David Montgomery. During his career, which ranged from being a lead economist at the Office of Management and Budget to the Resources for the Future, David has framed his conservative, faith-based and free-market philosophy into some of the country’s most successful policy initiatives.
A case in point is Montgomery’s leading role in the creation of the highly innovative “cap and trade,” otherwise known as emissions trading, of the late 1970s and 1980s which became California’s most successful tool in controlling air pollution.
While David covered a multitude of issues in our interview with him at Bullitt House last week, his opinions on the timely topic of immigration and border control were so intriguing that we made it the central focus of this edited version.
This video is approximately ten minutes in length.
Beryl Smith says
Thank you to the SPY for giving these columnists an opportunity to speak. Often the written word, however carefully crafted, still may convey an unintended slant that is off-putting. I have not been a supporter of Mr. Montgomery–often by-passing his column lately because he can make me so angry. Listening him explain his thoughts on just one topic, I realize that he is thoughtful and that seldom comes through in his column. I will probably continue to disagree with him on any number of topics, but I realize that it is important to read the other side of the argument to be able to support my own conclusions. Thank you for that.
Bob Ingersoll says
Beryl Smith: Thank you for saying exactly how I feel. I do not pass his columns by, but am often so put off by them that I go back to my history books to see how he can arrive at some of the opinions that weave through his columns. I am glad for the interview, and now would much rather sit down and talk with him than read his column. If his edited interview were his column, no one would read that large a text, and his message would be lost.
I also thank the Spy for their public service in presenting in a thoughtful way the opinions of a wide spectrum thinkers. Thank you.