For several decades it has become increasingly difficult to recognize Maryland as the state in which I was born, raised, and educated. Maryland has been drastically changing before the eyes of its citizens. The electorate has let this happen and by its voting patterns, has been aiding this slide into a government centric, anti- business, overregulated, highly taxed assemblage of counties. Those counties are now made up of “them that gets, and them that don’t.” Mostly, the Eastern Shore counties don’t.
The most recent session of the Maryland General Assembly, the last for the O’Malley administration, made Maryland’s decline and changing environment even more evident. We are no longer the “free state.”
Much of the legislation passed in this past session mimics several national trends, which will injure the reputation of the state in the future. They will injure an already limping economy and continue to encourage businesses and wealthier individuals to exit Maryland. Not a pretty future picture.
Then there is Baltimore City where 13 percent of the budget, some $300,000, is based on federal grants. That is a rather hefty percentage of a large city budget to be dependent on federal funding. Replacing a significant portion of the tax base with grant money is not sound budget policy, whether it be in Baltimore City or in Chestertown.
Has Maryland become a “nanny State”? Is state government getting too far down in the weeds when regulating the lives of its citizens and businesses? Either proposed legislation not passed or legislation actually passed would indicate that Maryland is becoming a state where elected officials know what is best for all segments of society. Liberal legislators are in the majority. A recent survey indicates a majority of those surveyed gave this legislative session a grade of E or F.
In the year when a new governor and State legislature will be elected, will the voters of Maryland exhibit common sense or continue to elect candidates with far-out agendas and wacky ideas? Electing more reasonable state leadership will not be an easy task. Republicans face a daunting task and moderate Democrats appear to be as scarce as hen’s teeth.
Big government at any level makes people feel smaller. Maryland, unfortunately, has gone down this path. Our electorate feels smaller and the elected officials feel superior. Just look at our current governor, who is launching a presidential campaign. A failed healthcare website, burdensome taxes, ridiculous regulations, and delusions of grandeur will not deter this leader of liberalism from spreading Maryland’s abysmal record throughout the land.
Fletcher R. Hall
Joe Lill says
Editor,
The Commentary above regarding legislation, ridiculous regulation, far out agendas, wacky ideas, burdensome taxes, and delusions of grandeur lacks any specifics except the statement that Baltimore City will receive $300,000 in Federal grants, an amount that as a percentage (13%), is a hefty amount for a large city budget. Yet in comparison, the USDA is supplying a grant of $498,ooo, and the State of Maryland is supplying a Community Development Block Grant of $442,ooo for a water clarifier for the town of Rock Hall…..Not bad for a town on the Eastern Shore!
If you need a chuckle while contemplating the demise of our State, click on this website http://www.dumblaws.com and click on some of our neighboring States to see what a dumb law looks like.
gerry maynes says
Dear Editor,
Hey as all you superior Marylanders are laughing your way to the poorhouse. Let me, a humble resident of the State Of Delaware, say thank you! By raising your taxes and chasing your fellow residents over our state line to shop, you not only create jobs for us, but keep my taxes cheap!
So, by all means keep electing those liberal loons it is greatly appreciated by my fellow citizens.
Your OK in my book.
Pete Buxtun says
Dear Editor,
I agree with Mr. Maynes that Maryland is pretty great! I have to have my suspension and alignment adjusted much less frequently when driving in MD versus DE. The roads are pretty terrible there. Perhaps they could spend some tax revenue on those? Oh, Wait…
Also, MD has some of the best schools in the nation (https://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2013/04/22/how-states-compare-in-the-2013-best-high-schools-rankings) coming in second on this particular list! DE, our close neighbor should be right behind right? Hmmm.. I have to scroll down pretty far… Oh! There it is!
Let’s agree to try to keep the sanctimonious state comparisons to a minimum shall we? No one on here has called you a “loon” either. Though I will comment that if perhaps DE had more tax revenue to spend on education, you would know that it’s “You’re OK”, not “Your OK”. I would love for one single person to be able to show any statistic illustrating all these weeping, destitute masses fleeing Maryland for DE or Texas or wherever. Please! Show me ONE study!
Also, perhaps if we stop commenting on baseless, unfounded, right-fringe, opinion pieces; people will stop writing them…
Gerry Maynes says
Editor,
Hey, Lets be fair about it. I was educated in the State of New York and graduated from Mercy College. My kids went to the University of Delaware, which is a fine school. In fact for a small state we have fine universities. Our school system in Middletown is outstanding. As for our roads, at least they lead to prosperity and not to vacant storefronts like in good old Maryland. Take away the federal jobs in your state you all would starve. But that was rude of me after all You are the reason my family lives so well and I am sure that you know how to spell Poor House, as that is where you are heading.
Pete Buxtun says
Dear Editor,
I didn’t see a link to a study in that trite and silly response…
Joe Lill says
Editor,
When I travel through Delaware and see the number of mobile homes I wonder two things. One….what would happen if there were termites with carbide metal teeth? …….And two, is the number one wish for Christmas, “Dear Lord, may I receive new hubcaps for my house!”
Edward B Plaisance, Jr says
Editor,
C’mon people!…it always amazes me how quickly these “discussions” and “conversations” devolve into snarkiness and sniping.
You will never “prove your point” (if you have one) this way, nor will you educate or illuminate your listeners or yourselves. It turns into a game of who can deliver the best “zinger”.
Edward B Plaisance, Jr says
Editor,
It is really hard to respond to generalized whining such as this.
Yes, it probably is hard to recognize Maryland today compared to 5o years ago. I would wager this is true of the majority of locales across the country, not to mention around the world.
Whether you call it progress is a topic for another day. I, for one, would not want to go back 50 years.
Any serious study on any one of Mr Hall’s topics will reveal complex issues and complex explanations for why any one thing is the way it is now, and why Maryland may be very different or very similar to other states.
I felt it would be interesting to comment on just one topic…the taxation situation in Maryland. The following text is from the https://247wallst.com/special-report/2013/10/11/the-most-tax-friendly-states-for-business-2/
“Not all groups agree with the Tax Foundation’s assessment that higher and more taxes hurt state businesses. Carl Davis, senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said, “The problem is that when you look at taxes in isolation — counting the number of dollars that come in — you miss the reason states are collecting taxes in the first place: to fund government services.”
As an example, Davis gave Maryland, which recently raised the gas tax rate to improve its roads and bridges. “This will likely hurt the state on the Tax Foundation’s business climate rankings, but one of the reasons the state raised the tax was that businesses were clamoring for it,” said Davis. “Businesses recognized that a well-funded infrastructure that’s not falling apart and can get employees to jobs on time and move products around the state efficiently is tremendously important to their bottom line.”
I found it very telling that a significant number of the the 10 best tax-friendly states on the list had revenue from oil, minerals, and casinos to pay their bills.
Also, quite a few of those states are places that I would have no desire to go live in as a retiree, nor would I be able to find my line of work as an employee if I was still in the job market.
Also, very telling is the Gross State Product listed here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP
Six out of the ten most tax-friendly states also were in the bottom 10 states for GSP.
By contrast, the majority of the worst tax-friendly states appeared in the top states for median household income here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States
To summarize my point…it isn’t a simple proposition and there is not a simple solution. However, bemoaning the situation with generic comments does not further the discussion, either.
Ed Plaisance
Keith Thompson says
Editor,
As someone who lives in Delaware, but works in Chestertown, it’s interesting to see the snarky warfare between residents of the two states; but I think it’s safe to say that the two states are separated by more than just the Mason-Dixon line. To be fair, there is a world of difference between the two states and the way they do business.
What’s most amusing to me is to see the apparent class warfare represented by some of the responses, and I do find it offensive to thumb one’s nose at mobile home park residents (and since I drive past Edge Of Town Road every day, it’s hard to ignore what is happening in your own back yard). My observation about Maryland in general, and Chestertown in particular, is that Chestertown is a fine place to live if you can afford to live here. There is a growing income gap in the United States, but that income gap is particularly noticeable here (and I would cite the state’s economic policies as one contributing factor). I live in Middletown simply because it is more affordable to live there rather than here, even with costs associated with me commuting here and that we have to pay income taxes in two separate states. Chestertown/Kent County is a great place to live if you’re affluent and retired, but Middletown is a better option if you’re younger and looking for the employment opportunities in order to acquire your wealth.
What is most apparent to me (and what is missing from the editorial) is that Maryland has a top heavy state government and that the regulations passed benefit the populous areas of the state at the expense of the rest of the state. I don’t think that Maryland has a higher tax burden than other comparable states, but that tax burden is lopsided as Eastern Shore residents are expected to help pay for things they don’t use like intercounty connectors, for instance. Lots of money gets sent to Annapolis that doesn’t get filtered back here. Also, while something like an increase in sales tax, alcohol or gas taxes may bring in revenues to help pay for highway improvements or schools, they greatly harm Eastern Shore businesses where residents can easily (and do) cross the Mason-Dixon line to do their shopping in Delaware. No studies are needed to prove this, just count the number of Maryland license plates in the Middletown Wal-Mart parking lot.
I think it is important to keep in mind that a key component of economic development in Delaware is that they market themselves as a retail outlet for out of state residents. The slogan “The Home Of Tax Free Shopping” is not just a government policy, but is also a marketing slogan. I agree many of the posters here that Fletcher Hall’s editorial is long on complaining and short on solutions, so I’d suggest that a possible solution is to push for greater autonomy for county and municipal governments because they can better determine what is right for their communities than Annapolis can.
Edward B Plaisance, Jr says
Editor,
How relative things can be!
This is not the first time I have heard the comment that Chestertown is great if you are affluent.
First time I heard it I laughed to myself…a new acquaintance who lives in Church Hill referred to living in Chestertown as “too rich for his blood”…we moved here from the Western Shore (Columbia) because the exact same house we wanted to buy in Chestertown (Ryan Homes) was $200,000 more expensive on the Western Shore (Severn, which is nowhere as nice as Chestertown).
I figured Chestertown was a real deal. Everyone I know here has moved here because, among other things, it was cheaper than some place else.
Regards.
Ed Plaisance
Keith Thompson says
Editor,
Yes it is all relative. Why does someone move to Chestertown? Because it’s a nice place to live? Yes. Because there are lots of job opportunities? No. When I speak of affluence, I’m not speaking of the ability to spend money for a home but the ability to live in your community. I have no doubt that homes in Chestertown and Kent County are cheaper than on the Western Shore or in other areas of the country like New Jersey, but the homes are cheaper because of the lack of job opportunities here…so in other words, Chestertown is an attractive community to live in if one is already affluent but (with few exceptions) is not a place that one will come to in order to become affluent. The home prices or the cost of living is not the affordability factor but the ability to live here without having to earn a living here.
The bottom line is that quality of life, an economic benefit for Chestertown, also comes with an economic cost. Different communities make decisions based on the relative strengths and weaknesses of their communities. It’s unfair for one community to criticize another community without understanding how these communities are different.