Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley to Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell: "Nothing Says Jobs Like Transvaginal Probes" // O'Malley Meme

As we mentioned earlier today, during a recent media event with national political reporters, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley jabbed at Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. The Baltimore Sun reported:

BALTIMORE SUN: "[Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley] also took some jabs at the Republican party, which he believes has strayed from the economy. "Nothing says jobs like transvaginal probes," O'Malley said, referring to the controversial legislation backed by VA Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, that would have required some women to undergo the invasive procedure before having an abortion."

Maryland Juice took the opportunity on a lazy Saturday to cut and paste a few images of Gov. O'Malley into our first O'Malley photo meme (see Maryland Juice's Facebook Meme Gallery). Enjoy!

Governor Martin O'Malley: Maryland Created Eight Times More Private Sector Jobs Than Virginia in 2011

The O'Malley-Brown campaign team sent out an email today firing the latest shot in the Maryland vs. Virginia battle. It seems Maryland's Governor is staking a claim to creating eight times as many private sector jobs as Virginia in 2011. See an excerpt below:

Dear Juice,

Now that you've had time to celebrate the New Year, we wanted to share a quick look back at 2011 and give you an idea of what's ahead.

Last week, Governor O'Malley briefed the media on the balanced approach we've taken together over the past year to move forward.

Here are a few highlights:

Is Virginia Overinvested in Defense? Why Maryland Can More Easily Survive the Defense Bubble Burst

A Maryland Juice reader sends us the latest entry in the Maryland vs. Virginia battles. It comes from Politico writer Mike Allen's daily news roundup from 11/20/2011. The article he points to raises an interesting question: putting tax rates aside, has Virginia been living large (perhaps too large) from defense spending during two major wars?

Bloomberg Government Special Report, "Defense Spending State-by-State": "Virginia, Hawaii and Alaska may suffer the most economic harm from defense cuts of as much as $1 trillion during the next decade ... Virginia, home of the Pentagon and the Norfolk naval base, tops the list with 13.9 percent of its gross domestic product derived from defense spending. Hawaii ranks second, at 13.5 percent, and Alaska is third with 10.7 percent. All other states are in single digits, the study showed."

Indeed, a visit to the Bloomberg Report referenced above notes dark and stormy waters for Virginia:

Bloomberg Government examined military spending by state and combined the data with innovative graphics to provide a comprehensive view of Pentagon spending, as Congress considers budget cuts that might threaten the economies of states such as Virginia.

Virginia accounted for 10.8 percent of federal defense spending in fiscal 2009, making the state the top recipient and vulnerable to possible reductions.

Bloomberg included visualizations of the potential for pain in Virginia:

This sounds eerily similar to a recent Washington Post reader's comment that Montgomery County Planning Board member Casey Anderson highlighted for Maryland Juice readers:

Montgomery vs. Fairfax: Montgomery County Planning Board Member Casey Anderson Weighs In

CASEY AT THE BAT: Montgomery County Planning Board member Casey Anderson recently forwarded Maryland Juice a series of articles regarding the ongoing Internet and media discussions comparing Montgomery County & Fairfax County (or Maryland & Virginia). His primary point in forwarding the news items appears to be to respond to a recent Washington Post editorial jumping in on the side of the Chamber of Commerce, Republicans, and business lobbyists:

The growing breach between Fairfax and Montgomery — which together account for 2 million people, more than a third of the region’s population — is laid bare by new federal data. The data were the centerpiece of an eye-opening presentation to the Montgomery County Council this month by Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University....

Elected officials — some of them, at least — have at last concluded that ever-spiraling taxes and bloated budgets, driven largely by the county’s powerful and aggressive public-employee unions, are not conducive to attracting major employers and high-end, knowledge-based jobs. 

Mr. Anderson questions this framing of the issues. He sent the following explanation to place his three news snippets in context:

My main concern is not so much whether Fairfax is in fact "ahead" or "behind."  It is the (way overdone, in my view) idea that Fairfax is the only or at least most relevant benchmark for where Montgomery County should be.  Montgomery County is not perfect, but when I think about how it might be different I don't say to myself, "Gee, if only we could be more like Fairfax County, this place would be fantastic!"

SMART: Maryland Positions Baltimore to Hijack Virginia's Shipping Business // Panama Canal Widening for More Ships

Maryland Juice in the waters that feed the Panama Canal

Maryland Juice had the opportunity to earn and burn some airline miles this year and chose to visit Panama and its amazing canal. While there, I discovered the amazing role the Panama Canal plays in the global economy, and how plans to widen the channel and increase shipping volume are vital to that nation's future success.

Notably, the Canal widening was put to a popular vote and was supported nearly unanimously. It turns out that Maryland has been slowly positioning itself to take advantage of the Canal widening to grease economic growth in the future. It also turns out that Virginia's port of Norfolk may have been caught off guard by our strategy.  The Baltimore Sun's Michael Dresser had a great story on the Baltimore vs. Norfolk port rivalry. Hat tip to a cowardly source for sending us the article:

Maryland Juice @ Panama Canal

It was just one headline among many of its kind in The Baltimore Sun during the 1980s and 1990s: "Baltimore loses round to Va...."

During those decades, the port of Baltimore lost a lot of rounds, and few months went by without an article about a business deserting the city for the dynamic powerhouse to the south.

But things have changed. 

New Study: Maryland Business Climate 11th in Nation // Senator Brian Frosh Questions MD Corporate Welfare Policy

“Maryland is the number one goddamn state in the union. 

We’re not just a good state – we’re a great state." 

Senate President Mike Miller (source: MD Reporter)

Early on Maryland Juice embarked on a perhaps quixotic campaign to try and help counter some of the anti-tax propaganda coming from the GOP, conservatives, think tanks and business leaders in Maryland. I don't really blame any of them for making the case for lower taxes, because that's what they always do (recession or not), and it is in their direct interest. After all, the current economic turmoil has given anti-tax proponents their best shot at actually getting what they want, especially since politicians are terrified of hypothetical job flight right now. But study after study indicates that the claims from business people are full of holes.

So when we have no money to give away to businesses and the data shows things are actually improving, isn't all of this anti-tax and pro-corporate welfare propaganda just that? Propaganda. What happened to technocratic policymaking? It seems too much governing is driven by fear instead of reason right now. Indeed, three key studies have recently taken the wind out of the anti-tax policy arguments:

• Millionaires Are Not Leaving for Virginia: Contrary to the Montgomery County Executive's assertions, millionaires have not been leaving Maryland for Virginia. Recent research indicates that this is a false claim and Maryland may have fewer millionaires today, simply because some millionaires lost money in the recession (as is true in practically every state). They didn't actually go anywhere.

• Maryland #1 in Nation for Millionaires: Even more proof lies in a new study indicating that compared to other states, Maryland millionaires make up the largest share of the population. Maryland has a higher % of millionaires than fabled pro-millionaire places like Virginia and Hawaii.

• Maryland #11 in Nation for Business-friendliness (and climbing): When factoring in things beyond simply tax rates, Maryland is currently moving up the rankings in terms of being a pro-business state. Interestingly if you rate Maryland on business taxes, the Tax Foundation claims Maryland is 44th in the nation for business-friendliness. But if you factor in health care availability, unemployment, business growth and other considerations, Maryland suddenly leaps to 11th in the nation.

It is important for policymakers to keep everything in perspective.....

Recession Smackdown - MD Beats VA in Job Growth - Part 2

Comptroller Peter Franchot's ears must have been burning during last July's Board of Public Works meeting. Find out why below!

In Part 1 of our post, Maryland Beats Virginia in Job Growth, we bragged about how Maryland has now surged ahead of Virginia's flacid job growth. In doing so, we discussed aspects of our regional rivalry, ultimately noting the ungentlemanly behavior by Virginia Governor Bob O'Donnell, who recently took the helms of the Republican Governors Association:

Even Virginia Governor O'Donnell got into the regional spittin' match, comparing his recently projected budget surpluses to Maryland's continuing budget woes.

The Maryland Democrats responded with this rebuttal delivered by press release:

McDonnell’s illusionary “surplus” is the result of deferred bills, dismantled programs important to the middle class, budgetary obfuscation and federal stimulus spending.... No wonder Virginia has one of the worst track records on funding education and ranks 44th in job creation in 2011.” 

But as the Washington Post reported today, the Dems didn't get the last word:

Maryland Beats Virginia in Job Growth - Part 1

Yesterday, the Gazette quietly reported on what some would consider a Bizarro-world scenario: Maryland is now beating Virginia in job growth.

Just a month ago, Maryland’s job creation numbers looked bleak, showing the state with the second-highest percentage job loss in the nation in the previous 12 months.... 

Maryland now is back to seeing job growth in the past 12 months, ranking closer to the middle of the national pack with a 0.1 percent gain. Since January, the state has added a net 13,900 jobs.

Furthermore, all of last month’s net growth was in Maryland’s private sector, as government slashed jobs.

Meanwhile, key regional competitors Virginia and North Carolina lost jobs for the third consecutive month in July and have added only a net 100 and 6,200 positions, respectively, since January.

Observation #1 - Maryland Rules, Virginia Can Shove It (Except Next Year When We Need You!):