Published on Friday, April 02, 2004

In a second attempt to legalize slot machine gambling in Maryland, Governor Ehrlich’s new proposal includes two “non-racetrack” slot-machine palaces along the I-95 corridor. This compromise would satisfy House Speaker Busch, who doesn’t believe slots are “good public policy” - except if they’re state-owned and state maintained.

Published on Friday, March 05, 2004

The Baltimore City Public School System’s $75 million (and growing) deficit should be a wake-up call to lawmakers in Annapolis.  Gov. Ehrlich now has the extraordinary opportunity to bring long overdue education reform to a system that desperately needs more than just a quick-fix infusion of taxpayer money.

Published on Saturday, August 30, 2003

Congressional lawmakers will soon vote on legislation to allow Americans to purchase prescription drugs from pharmacies in Canada and other countries where prices are much lower. This “re-importation” seems like a good idea, especially for seniors who are anxious to lower their prescription drug bills. But the legislation raises two important questions that lawmakers need to address: How can the safety of re-imported drugs be assured, and how can the U.S. bring lower drug prices to its own pharmacies?

Published on Saturday, May 04, 2002

The 2002 Maryland General Assembly recently considered legislation to lower prescription drug costs by forcing drug manufacturers to pay supplemental rebates for inclusion of their drugs in Maryland's Medicaid formulary. The law's defeat was a blessing because its implementation would have been a curse. Instead of lowering drug prices for the neediest state residents, the price controls imposed by such a law would have put Maryland's hemorrhaging state Medicaid program in intensive care and on indefinite life support.

Published on Saturday, March 09, 2002

With employment in Maryland declining, it's time to demand that the federal government quit taxing employment in the state just to limit the federal deficit. Maryland sends about $120 million a year to Washington, DC in the federal unemployment insurance tax, but only gets $65.1 million back. Most other states are in the same situation.

Published on Saturday, January 19, 2002

Maryland's next governor will have a grocery list of problems to address— most importantly will be the budget crisis the state now faces.  New figures from the non-partisan Department of Legislative Services in Annapolis show Maryland is facing a  $1.7 billion budget deficit. The Glendening-Townsend administration has announced $205 million in cuts as a means of addressing revenue shortfalls and increased expenditures in the state budget. That is a good start, but unfortunately it's too late.

Published on Tuesday, January 15, 2002

Despite a significant increase in public school spending over the past decade, Maryland students have not shown significant improvement on standardized tests. What is more, many minority students are leaving school without mastering even the most basic of skills.

Published on Friday, September 07, 2001

MARYLAND'S WORSENING traffic congestion will be a top issue in the next gubernatorial election, as will Gov. Parris N.Glendening's recent initiative for an additional $500 million for transportation over the next six years that has been approved by the legislature.

Published on Tuesday, March 06, 2001

If your child brought home straight Ds and Fs, would you reward him or her with more money? Not likely, but that's what's happening in Maryland public schools.  If per-pupil expenditures are any indicator of student performance, then Maryland public schools have grossly failed to demonstrate this. Maryland, with a per-pupil expenditure of $7,034, exceeds the national average of $6,189 by 12 percent.