Maryland’s standard of living is not increasing, even though more residents have jobs than at any point in recent history. The unevenness of recovery persists even with the average annual unemployment rate in Maryland at its lowest level since 2008. It will become increasingly difficult for the state economy to thrive if only upper-income households are able to experience the state’s economic boom. This year, Maryland lawmakers have the opportunity to support working families by taking action on issues such as expanding the state Earned Income Tax Credit for younger workers and requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. Those are the kinds of policies Governor Hogan and the General Assembly should embrace to increase opportunity and help more families make ends meet. Average annual employment fell in 2015 to 5.2 percent in Maryland, from  5.8 percent in 2014, according to data released last week by the Bureau of Labor…

Photo by: FeydHuxtable Creative Commons License Passage of measures being considered by the legislature would help the one in eight Maryland families that struggle to put food on the table every day. Legislation would increase the cash assistance for food, expand the school free lunch program, and make free school breakfast available to more children. All of these initiatives would invest in brighter futures for families and children who live, learn, and work in the state. Raising the Minimum Benefit Although Maryland’s economy has improved since the Great Recession, daily nutritious meals are still out of the reach of many families. Even when they receive assistance, it often falls short of what’s needed. In 2015, approximately 11 percent of Maryland households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) received less than $30 a month and around 7.5 percent received about $16 a month (the current minimum benefit). Rising food…

Maryland is now in a good position to reverse years of decline and invest in state-of-the-art school facilities; up-to-date water treatment plants; and better highways, railroads, and ports. By stepping up these much-needed investments now, Maryland would create immediate job opportunities and support economic growth. As federal infrastructure investment has fallen by half as a share of GDP over the last 35 years Maryland has not stepped up to task of investing in its needs. In 2013, Maryland had the fourth-lowest allocation of state and local capital spending as a percentage of its economy in the country, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In addition, from 2002 to 2013 Maryland’s percentage of state spending on infrastructure declined more than in 41 other states. Restoring Maryland’s state and local government investments in infrastructure to 2002 levels as a share of the economy would require…

This legislative session, some lawmakers are attempting to cut taxes across the board on retirement income, a strategy that would result in a financial gain for the wealthiest households and drastically reduce support for state services that all Marylanders rely on, like schools, roads, and public safety. It is important to help retirees who struggle to make ends meet. But such efforts must be targeted by income, as well as age, so lawmakers don’t simply shift the burden for paying for the state’s needs from wealthy seniors to younger workers. Policymakers often use tax breaks for seniors to appeal to this politically active demographic. However, implementing such tax breaks have been costly both to state governments and the people who depend on public services. For instance, a proposal in Iowa to phase out state taxation on retirement income over the course of five years was shown to cost the state…

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a common-sense tax break that helps working people who struggle to get by on low wages and also boosts the economy. This year, legislators have the chance to expand the credit in Maryland, enabling more low-wage workers to keep more of what they earn – money they will likely spend at local businesses, helping the community economy, Photo via 401kcalculator.org. Maryland’s current EITC offers an essential hand up for thousands of families that work hard for low pay. But it leaves out thousands of other low-wage workers. Young people just getting started in the workforce, workers without children and those who don’t claim a child as a dependent get little or no benefit from the current credit, even if they have very low incomes. In fact, many people who work for very low wages go deeper into poverty because they don’t qualify for a…

  Many working families in Maryland aren’t paid enough to make ends meet, can’t take time off work when a child is sick, or face erratic working hours that make it more challenging to arrange child care. These are especially difficult problems for women workers in the state. A package of proposed legislation known as the Women’s Economic Security Agenda would help create greater economic security for working families by addressing these issues.   Ensuring a Healthier Workforce Everyone gets sick from time to time but for too many Maryland workers, taking time off from their jobs to get better means giving up a day’s pay or possibly even losing a job. The Healthy Working Families Act would ensure that most Maryland workers have the opportunity to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to seven full days each year.  This would make a…

Even as Maryland becomes an increasingly diverse state, inequity in the economic success of different racial groups remains a persistent problem. When comparing measures of income, employment, poverty, housing, and incarceration, African American residents in Maryland and across the country fare far worse than other groups. One major disparity is in the rate of home ownership. Less than half of black households in Maryland own the home that they reside in. More than three fourths of whites are homeowners. Home ownership is an important way for families to build wealth, however black Marylanders lag behind for a number of reasons that can be attributed to institutional and systemic barriers. For example, while the practice of “redlining” that led to segregation in many Maryland communities in the 20th century is thought by many to be a thing of the past, a 2015 report found that it remains very difficult for people…

While Gov. Larry Hogan’s proposed budget provides some of the much-needed public investments that will help Maryland families still struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession it still doesn’t fully address the state’s needs. It is also important to keep in mind that many of those investments are due to the legislative mandates the governor wants to eliminate. The budget proposal unnecessarily shrinks the public workforce and sets the stage for tax cuts and other policy changes that would, over time, take significant resources away from public investment in the common good. An initial review of the budget also shows how the governor’s priorities differ from what other state leaders have pursued in past years. For example, the governor wants to spend less on buses and trains, and more on roads. And he places a higher priority on upgrading police and fire facilities than helping state colleges and universities…

Governor Hogan’s proposals for rejuvenating Maryland’s manufacturing industry would create an uneven playing field for businesses and set a bad precedent by exempting some businesses from paying their fair share for the services we all benefit from. We all agree that creating more good jobs in Maryland must be a priority, especially in areas with high unemployment. However, the governor’s approach is modeled after activities in other states that have created few jobs at very high cost to taxpayers. Governor Hogan wants to eliminate the state corporate income tax and all other state taxes for 10 years on manufacturers that set up shop in specific areas of Baltimore City, Western Maryland, and the lower Eastern Shore. In addition, people hired at these new manufacturers earning less than $65,000 per year would not have to pay any state income taxes. The governor’s proposal is similar to other programs Maryland leaders have…

By Benjamin Orr and Jim Racheff This week, the Maryland Economic Development and Business Climate Commission suggested that Maryland should follow the bad policy decisions that some other states have made and give a tax break to large, profitable corporations. Instead of joining this race to the bottom on corporate tax rates, Maryland should be in the race to the top. Let’s compete to see who can offer the best schools, transportation options, health care, and public safety services – things that actually contribute to a strong economy. Giving massive tax breaks to large, profitable corporations doesn’t lead to economic growth. As we have seen in several states that cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy over the past few years, the result for average taxpayers is that their taxes go up and they get worse services in return. The idea that Maryland just has to endure a little short-term…