If you’ve read this morning’s Sun, you’ve seen the article entitled, “Mayor offers plan to provide $2,500 annual tax credit to city police, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies.”
The Economics of Dilution vs. Concentration
It is the mission of Baltimore Rising to start a fire. We talk about it all the time. Not the destructive kind. No. Of course not. What we’re talking about is igniting all-inclusive economic growth that will, sooner rather than later, clean up the mess that Baltimore has become over the past 60 years. Those are the 60 years during which the manufacturing sector of the city collapsed and, for one reason or another, one third of our population, mostly from the top down, disappeared. A good many of them abandoned the city for the safer, more prosperous, better educated suburbs.
To TIF or not to TIF?
Screenshot from the Baltimore Development Corporation website. Note the BDC’s slogan. Catchy, but what exactly does it mean?
Let’s talk briefly about TIFs. “To TIF or not to TIF?” isn’t really the question, but it makes for a catchy title. The real question isn’t whether or not, but where.
“Excuse me.”
Yes?
“What’s a TIF?”
Minority rule?
If you don’t vote, this post is directed right at you. Last election, you were either too busy doing something you thought was more important, too lazy or you made the conscious decision that it wouldn’t make any difference. Maybe you didn’t like any of the candidates who were running, so why bother? Whatever your reason, you were a no show.
Online Voting: No more excuses.
Baltimore Rising in favor of online voting. Why? It’s simple. Because we believe in majority rule.
Let’s just focus on two recent Baltimore City primaries. We’ll talk about primaries because, in Baltimore City, Democrats so outnumber Republicans that the winners of the Democratic primary are almost always victorious in the general election.
What’s in it for me?
It’s a reasonable question.
Sure, you care about Baltimore and maybe that’s reason enough for you to contribute to Baltimore Rising. But then, human nature being what it is, you may be asking yourself, “So how, exactly, will contributing to Baltimore Rising make my life any better? What do I stand to gain if and when Baltimore Rising succeeds?”
“Dear Next Contestant” …Steve Schuh’s Affection For The Second Amendment
Dear Next Contestant:
Some friends of mine and I were having cheese fries and beer the other night after work… No, none of us is on a diet. ..when we started talking about our schools and people running for County Council and Executive.
“Dear Next Contestant” …The law of Maryland is pro-choice.
Dear Next Contestant –
Hi. I’m not entirely sure that a letter to the editor is the right place to talk about something like this, but it’s 2014 as my husband tells me, so here goes. My husband and I have taught our daughter, who is a high school student, to speak her mind and not to be afraid of an issue if it’s important and if talking about it is the right thing to do. This, I think, is one of those times.
For Steve Schuh, is County Executive a stepping stone to higher office or was it just a consolation prize?
Hi. According to the Maryland Board of Elections, Tea Party Republican Steve Schuh didn’t register to run for Anne Arundel County Executive until January 3, 2014. Keep that date in mind.
Is Steve a Schuh-in?
Steve Schuh is a sitting Delegate and the Tea Party Republican who is running for Anne Arundel County Executive. He’s running against former three-term Sheriff, Democrat George Johnson. I’ve been following the race, having grown up in Anne Arundel County and because it raises important questions about the influence of money on who we elect.
I’m guessing green is Steve Schuh’s favorite color.
“Dear Next Contestant” …$18 million?! No, no.
Dear Next Contestant –
Teachers in our county start at $45,000 per year. Needless to say, we need to attract and keep the very best teachers we can hire to make sure our kids get a good education.
“Dear Next Contestant” …$27.30?!
Dear Next Contestant –
Mr. Schuh is one of the founding members of the Legislature’s Tea Party Caucus – although it isn’t something he talks a lot about now that he’s running for County Executive.