Give Us an Earful (Eyeful?) . . . about the Upcoming Election
We know, we know. The Maryland Policy Blog has been dormant for too long, but it's back! And we want to know what you think. We really do.
It's not as though there has been nothing to write about the past six months: state revenue growth, budget increases trying to make up for lost time, unmet health care needs, and on the horizon, a projected return to state budget deficits. And we have been writing about those things--just not on the blog. You see, we have been temporarily understaffed and, um, overtaxed. (Did I say that?) The former and initial director of the Institute, the renowned Steve Hill, left for another professional opportunity in 2005. In January, I joined Joanna Shoffner, the associate director, as the Institute's new director, and things are humming along again.
So, here goes. We'd like to know your answer to this question:
What do you consider to be the most important issue for candidates for governor, delegate, and senator to address during the upcoming Maryland election?
Maybe your top issue right now is the same as a lot of other people's: electricity rate or gas price increases. But maybe it's something else. Let's hear it.
Stephen Elmore
It's not as though there has been nothing to write about the past six months: state revenue growth, budget increases trying to make up for lost time, unmet health care needs, and on the horizon, a projected return to state budget deficits. And we have been writing about those things--just not on the blog. You see, we have been temporarily understaffed and, um, overtaxed. (Did I say that?) The former and initial director of the Institute, the renowned Steve Hill, left for another professional opportunity in 2005. In January, I joined Joanna Shoffner, the associate director, as the Institute's new director, and things are humming along again.
So, here goes. We'd like to know your answer to this question:
What do you consider to be the most important issue for candidates for governor, delegate, and senator to address during the upcoming Maryland election?
Maybe your top issue right now is the same as a lot of other people's: electricity rate or gas price increases. But maybe it's something else. Let's hear it.
Stephen Elmore
posted by MarylandPolicyBlog at
1:00 PM
4 Comments:
I think one of the biggest issues that should come up in the Governor's race is higher education funding. The tuition increases we have seen over the past 5 years have been ridiculous. Our public university system plays a large role for students all over the North East from Penn. to NY. Even the in-state students are being hit hard by these hikes. Higher Education is quickly becoming a necessity. As a teacher, how can I sell the idea of college to my students if they know they can't afford it?
By
MoCoDem, at 9:03 AM
Many people would agree with you, mocodem. The state's budget for the new fiscal year, which will begin July 1st, increases state funding for college and universities by 12 percent. In addition, the General Assembly froze tuition at state universities for a year.
However, these actions do not make up lost ground. The 2006 state funding level for higher education was only 1 percent more than 2003. Also, since 2002, tuition and fees have increased by more than 30 percent at all but two of the state's twelve four-year universities. Maryland students are not alone: their counterparts at many other states' universities have seen similar increases the past four years. Sometimes, though, you'd like to be in a class by yourself.
Stephen Elmore
By
MarylandPolicyBlog, at 2:36 PM
That stands for Maryland Elitist and Illegal Budget and Tax Policy Institute.
Sorry, no where else to post this. I noticed that the ME&IBTPI, that great and noble think tank that advocates for higher minimum wages and fairness for working people, is advertising for a position where someone can work for you for FREE!
Don't flatter yourself.
Besides, there is this thing called the Fair Labor Standards Act and another thing called the MINIMUM WAGE that says that you can't pay someone BELOW slave wages, which would include having them WORK FOR FREE!
You are probably thinking that there is some do-gooder liberal exceptions to the above laws that would exempt you from them. I did word search, and "do-gooder, liberal exception" yielded no hits in the FLSA, so you may be out of luck.
Or maybe you have some smart legal minds in your think tank that find the loopholes that allow you to skirt the laws--that's right, you all know about loopholes and law-skirting. Unfortunately, MEandIBTPI, even if you find a loophole, what you are saying is--if you're a rich guy from Haverford whose mummsy and daddy can pay for you to live in DC while you work for free, then we'll give you great opportunities to do good work and make good contacts so that you can get a paying job some day with other elitists. On the other hand, if you go to Morgan and need to actually make money over the summer, then doing good work is not for you.
So here is what I'd like to see during the upcoming election: places that advocate for the minimum wage with their research blather about how badly we need to increase the minimum wage, don't then advertise on their webpage for work that not only doesn't pay the minimum wage, but actually pays them NOTHING.
I hope that you at least buy them a nice lunch at the end of the summer.
By
ME&IBTPI?, at 12:38 AM
The best course of action here was just to take notes and pass them on. Higher Education is rapidly becoming inevitability. We must think about this issue.
___________________________
anrik
Addiction Recovery Maryland
By
anrik, at 8:39 AM
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