When this year’s legislative session began, there was the potential for the General Assembly to take meaningful steps to help thousands of Marylanders who struggle to make ends meet. There were also significant threats to Maryland’s future prosperity, with proposals for massive tax cuts for businesses and wealthy individuals that would deprive the state of much-needed for public investments that build the economy. By the time the session came to a close at midnight on Monday, lawmakers had taken some incremental steps to help Marylanders working hard for low pay and other than that largely maintained the status quo.   Photo by Martin Falbisoner via Creative Commons Missed Opportunities to Help Working Marylanders Legislators missed an opportunity to give working people a much-deserved break when they failed to expand the state Earned Income Tax Credit. This proposal would have extended the EITC to low-wage workers without dependent children and workers…

As parents throughout the state already know, enrolling an infant in daycare in Maryland can now costs more than the tuition for a state college, putting this much-needed service out of reach for many working families. This might limit how much a parent can work, or force them to rely on substandard care. Photo by Pink Sherbert Photography Addressing this challenge  as part of a national commitment to early childhood care and education would not only help families who are struggling to make ends meet it would provide a major boost to the state’s economy, according to new research from the Economic Policy Institute. Average annual child care costs in Maryland are $13,932 for a family with an infant and $9,100 for a family with a 4-year-old. Less than 28 percent of Maryland families are able to afford infant care, based on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services…

This month more than 15,000 Marylanders who are already struggling to get by will begin to lose a vital resource that helps them get enough to eat every day. Due to a needlessly restrictive federal time limit, many Marylanders between ages 18 and 49 who are not caring for children will no longer be able to receive food assistance. Many of those who will be affected are homeless, veterans, and part-time workers. Under a federal law enacted in the 1990s, people who fall into this category are eligible to receive nutrition assistance only for three months during a three-year period unless they are working or enrolled in  job training m – circumstances that are often out of their control. Following the massive job losses during the Great Recession, many states – including Maryland – chose to suspend the time limit to help ensure people would not have to go without…

Maryland’s new state spending plan does not do all it could to meet the needs of families still struggling to get by in an uncertain economic recovery. The state budget the General Assembly adopted this week for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is a good-news/bad-news story. For example, it increases funding for public schools over last year but essentially only covers the growth in student populations and other increased costs local school districts face. It doesn’t provide support for things that could help more children succeed, like enough money to allow more kids to attend a high-quality preschool. Image by StockMonkeys.com Similarly, instead of adopting a measure that would have made sure everyone who needs food assistance would get at least $30 a month, lawmakers limited the increase to people over 62 years old. A lot of Marylanders who have trouble paying for food will be stuck with…

By Mark Scott Undocumented immigrants are an important part Maryland’s economy. They make a significant contribution to the state’s public finances by paying hundreds of millions of dollars each year in state and local taxes, which support schools, roads, and other vital public investments in Maryland’s future. Collectively, undocumented immigrants in Maryland pay an estimated $308 million in state and local taxes per year. As impressive as that is, the amount would be even higher if they were granted a path to citizenship. If the federal government extended some form of legal status to all undocumented immigrants across the country, as President Obama has attempted to do through executive actions for people who meet certain criteria, the state and local tax contributions from Marylanders would increase by more than $85 million annually. Undocumented immigrants living and working in Maryland contribute to our state’s tax revenue in a variety of ways.…

The biggest disagreement between the Maryland Senate and Gov. Larry Hogan over this year’s budget is over whether to help more people keep their jobs and to invest in the state’s future versus adding more money to the state’s already-flush reserves. The Senate version of the budget makes more public investment in capital projects, such as updating aging buildings. It also provides help to school districts dealing with higher-than-expected teacher retirement costs, increases reimbursement rates for physicians who serve Medicaid patients, and saves the jobs of 100 Marylanders at the Springfield Hospital Center, who the governor wants to replace with a private contractor. All of these moves would help people, whether they are students whose education might be jeopardized if their schools have to make cuts, people who would find health care harder to get if fewer doctors accept Medicaid patients, or the struggling seniors whose monthly food assistance benefit…

Some Maryland senators are advocating for tax giveaways to the wealthy and calling it “tax relief for everyone.” As appealing as that might be to some, it simply isn’t true. The package of tax changes approved in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee today gives the largest tax break to those who need it the least. At the same time, it takes away significant resources that Maryland needs to maintain good schools, safe communities, a well-functioning transportation network, and public investments in a strong economy and broad prosperity. The proposal may be welcome news to Maryland’s millionaires, who will see the largest tax savings – an average benefit of more than $1,700 to the wealthiest 1 percent. But most Marylanders will see little or no money and face the burden of reduced public services. When fully phased in, taxpayers with income between $60,000 and $100,000 per year will get an…

Decision makers in Annapolis appear willing to gamble on passing a budget that likely won’t meet the state’s needs. It could leave the state scrambling to find more funding next year and put critical programs at risk. Last week, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee voted to further reduce planned spending on the state’s Medicaid program as the committee made cuts to the governor’s proposed budget, which already shortchanged the program. Medicaid helps ensure that low-income individuals and families can receive the health care they need to be productive members of their communities. The governor’s budget estimates that just over 1.2 million Marylanders will be eligible for Medicaid in fiscal year 2017, which starts July 1st. However, many heath care providers and advocates believe that is a severe underestimate of how many Marylanders are actually eligible to enroll in the program. As the state reviewed Medicaid eligibility for all participants…

Photo by K Whiteford As leaders in Annapolis grapple with how best to support Maryland’s continued economic progress, both the governor and legislative leaders have said they want to lower taxes. The decisions they make could greatly affect the state’s future prosperity. So it’s important during these deliberations to understand that not all tax cuts are created equal. Tax breaks such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, which help working people who are struggling to make ends meet, are proven to help the economy because people with very low incomes are much more likely to spend the extra money from a tax refund on things they need but couldn’t otherwise afford, like car repairs. On the other hand, an income tax cut benefitting the wealthiest residents, which in Maryland includes a higher than average share of millionaires, doesn’t have the same effect. People with very high incomes can already afford…

This week’s political sparring between the governor and the legislature over how important decisions are made about the state’s budget is the latest example of the urgent need for a new process that creates a greater incentive for the Governor and legislature to work together to deliver essential services for Marylanders. The governor holds almost all of the power in Maryland’s annual budget process, something that is unique among the states. In most cases, the General Assembly can’t act on its own to add money to any area of the budget – even if lawmakers find savings in another part of the budget to offset the costs. This rule, part of the state’s constitution, limits collaboration between the General Assembly and the governor in setting the state’s priorities. As a result, legislators have established funding formulas to ensure that the priorities most important to their constituents receive sufficient funding each…