Strangled in its Cradle Morality, it is said, is what you do when no one is looking. To assess the morality of the O’Malley administration and its favored clients, the teachers’ unions, it is appropriate to look at an obscure enactment, passed and signed ‘under the radar screen’, Chapter 288 of the Acts of 2012. […]
www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-school-construction-20120301,0,1047591.story State should not agree to commit vast sums over decades to a questionable building plan By George W. Liebmann 4:18 PM EST, March 1, 2012 Advertisement On the important issue of school construction, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has displayed refreshing common sense by demonstrating skepticism about a vastly inflated — indeed […]
Lee Casey and David Rivkin, in the latest of their many apologias for the Bush administration, again urge the theory of the unitary executive (Times, May 29). In this scheme of things, the Presidency is an elective dictatorship, and subordinate officers like U.S. Attorneys, once the formality of Senate confirmation is over, are removable for […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Baltimore City has two pension funds for non-elective officials, a Fire and Police Fund with about $2 billion in assets and a fund for other employees (ERS) with about $1.3 billion. Until three years ago, the Boards of the two funds met together and maintained a common investment policy, one element of which […]
As Maryland moves toward the 21st century, an expanding population demands ever better services and ever more schools – without more taxes. How to pull it off? The answer is for local governments to pay less for services, leaving funds available for purchasing additional services in other areas. The easiest means of doing this is to subject service providers to the rigors of the market by making them compete with each other.
Prudent families only borrow when they must. They know that the results of over borrowing can be dire. No such worries appear to exist in Maryland with respect to incurring debt. The state constitution requires the state to pay its bills on time and in full. An apparently unlimited supply of tax dollars ensures the […]
A casual approach to the cost and size of government has been a tradition in Maryland. State and local personal income taxation is among the very highest per capita in the country, a fact that has elicited remarkably little interest among the intelligentsia. This is despite a recently published warning by the Glendening administration’s own secretary of business and economic development, James Brady, that such confiscatory fiscal policy serves as a “red flag” to businesses.
About the Author Kantayhanee Whitt is currently an assistant program manager with a Baltimore-based non-profit enterprise that provides training and technical assistance to organizations and institutions involved in community development. She received her master of arts degree in policy studies at the Johns Hopkins University in 1997. In 1995, she received her bachelor of science […]
The economic uncertainty of our tomorrows necessitates a commitment to preparedness on the part of county and municipal governments successfully to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Sluggish economic growth and reduced federal and state financial assistance, coupled with increased demands for services and public intolerance for additional taxes/fees, underscore the importance and timeliness […]