An inspiring example for the new 114th Congress: voters investing in kids

The bipartisan support we’ve seen among governors for our No Kid Hungry campaign fits with this trend toward local support for children’s most fundamental needs.  Our work is an opportunity to create a new positive narrative American politics so desperately needs

The issue is not whether there is political will for investing in the future; it is what form such investments must take to gain the political will needed. When those investments are focused on kids, in one’s own community, with results that can be seen and measured and will ultimately benefit everyone through better educational outcomes and economic competitiveness, then partisanship dissipates and political support grows.

This small oasis of bipartisan productivity at the local level may be America’s most fertile ground for reversing the plunging confidence in government, due to partisanship, political paralysis, and the role of money in elections. If we can effectively serve those who are most vulnerable and the least responsible for the situation in which they find themselves – America’s children – we have a shot at restoring that once taken-for-granted key ingredient of the American dream – that the next generation will be better off than our own.

We must give the new Congress a chance and see what it can do. But if the reconvening of vast numbers of Congressional incumbents, dependent on PAC funding and committed to the status quo turns out to be less than inspiring, perhaps we should convene some of the local leaders who against all odds have achieved breakthroughs in their communities on behalf of Americans most voiceless kids.