Serafini to participate on panel concerning state's pension system

Originally published in the Herald-Mail

By Erin Julius | The Herald-Mail
Posted on Thursday, March 25, 2010
ANNAPOLIS - Del. Andrew A. Serafini, who during the current General Assembly session has been sounding the alarm about the state's underfunded and underperforming pension system, next week will be on a panel that discusses the issue.

Pork prevails

Originally published in the Frederick News-Post

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2010
What does it say about state legislators when even in the middle of a financial crisis they funnel money to pet causes?

Abortion and the health-care debate

Originally published in the Washington Post

By Marc Kilmer
Posted on Wednesday, March 24, 2010
In his March 14 op-ed, "How health care discourages abortion," T.R. Reid contended that a woman is likely to avoid abortion if she knows she and her child will have access to medical care. In fact, those pregnant women who disproportionately obtain abortions in the United States -- women in poverty or near poverty -- are eligible for health-care coverage through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as are their children.

Paid for not working

Originally published in the Frederick News-Post

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Sunday, March 21, 2010
Gov. Martin O'Malley repeatedly talks about the need for every resident to sacrifice to create "one" Maryland -- everyone, that is, but state government employees.

Did cigarette tax increase do more harm than good?

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun

By Marc Kilmer
Posted on Wednesday, March 17, 2010
In 2007, Gov. Martin O'Malley and the Maryland General Assembly enacted a number of tax increases designed to close the state's budget deficit. As this year's General Assembly session illustrates, these tax hikes did not fix the state's spending problems. Instead, they created problems for many Marylanders.

For 'Sunshine Week,' lift the veil on state grant-making

Originally published in the Baltimore Sun

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Tuesday, March 16, 2010
This week is "Sunshine Week," launched to promote government transparency at the local, state and federal level.While Gov. Martin O'Malley often touts how many statistics his administration puts on the Web, this week is a great opportunity to point out how the state could improve citizen access to information -- a vital component to a healthy democracy. At a time when the state can little afford to waste money, Mr. O'Malley's administration fails to adequately show how almost $1 billion each year is being used by nonprofit and for-profit companies given grants by state agencies. To put that figure in perspective, grants equal one-thirteenth of the operating budget and could send about 76,000 children to public school.

Maryland needs BOAST

Originally published in the Frederick News-Post

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Educating children usually ranks behind paying off the teachers union in Maryland for political support.

Union power grab

Originally published in the Frederick News-Post

By Marta Hummel Mossburg
Posted on Wednesday, March 03, 2010
At a time when the state has no money to spare, Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to give more power to one union at the expense of family child care workers, the families they serve and, ultimately, taxpayers.

Why Maryland Doesn't Need Universal Preschool

By Dan Lips
Posted on Monday, March 01, 2010
Governor Martin O'Malley's "Maryland's Preschool for All Business Plan," created in December 2009, intends to "outline the direction for implementing the [universal preschool] program during the second decade of the 2000s." The initiative, like many liberal initiatives of its kind, is based on the assumption of a "multiplier effect" -- that universal preschool will better prepare young students for grades K-12 and provide such spillover benefits as reduced grade retention, special education enrollments, teen pregnancy, and criminal arrests, while increasing high school graduation and employment rates.