JUICE: Gansler's Kickoff, D15 Candidates Forum, Lower Corporate Taxes in MD vs. VA, MoCo's 10-Line Transit Network

PLUS: WEST VIRGINIA GOP REJECTS CARPETBAGGER ALEX MOONEY

Below Maryland Juice provides a few news items of interest to Free State politicos:

JUICE #1: WHO ATTENDED DOUG GANSLER'S CAMPAIGN KICKOFF IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY? - Attorney General Doug Gansler kicked off his gubernatorial campaign yesterday in Rockville, Maryland. Several politicos asked Maryland Juice who attended the event, and I was able to compile the following list of MoCo officials who attended. Note that I have no idea if these folks are actually endorsing Gansler, so don't read too much into this without asking them yourself:

• Comptroller Peter Franchot
• Senator Jennie Forehand
• Senator Rich Madaleno
• Senator Karen Montgomery
• Delegate Charles Barkley
• Delegate Al Carr
• Delegate Susan Lee
• Delegate Luiz Simmons
• Delegate Craig Zucker
• Councilmember George Leventhal
• State's Attorney John McCarthy

JUICE #2: MEET THE DISTRICT 15 DELEGATE HOPEFULS NEXT TUESDAY 10/1 - Now that Delegate Brian Feldman has been appointed to replace Rob Garagiola in the State Senate, the MCDCC will next select a replacement for Feldman's D15 Delegate seat. The District 15 Democratic Caucus is holding a candidates forum next Tuesday, October 1st and is inviting members of the public to come and meet the Delegate hopefuls (excerpt of details below): 

D15 DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS: The District 15 Democratic Caucus invites you to attend a Candidates Forum on October 1st at 7pm at the Up County Regional Services Center at 12900 Middlebrook Road, Germantown, MD 20874. The Forum will provide a place for residents seeking the appointment to the open District 15 seat in the Maryland House of Delegates to introduce themselves to Caucus members and the general public. After the forum, the candidates will have an opportunity to informally socialize with members of the audience, Caucus officials, and others....

Candidates who desire to participate in the Forum shall notify the District 15 Caucus of their intent to participate by 5:00pm Monday, September 30, 2013, by replying to this email....

JUICE #3: STUDY SAYS MARYLAND'S EFFECTIVE CORPORATE TAX RATES ARE LOWER THAN VIRGINIA'S - Like in Maryland, officials in the District of Columbia have been embroiled in a minimum wage fight in recent weeks. Not surprisingly, DC officials are also discussing the city's corporate tax rates, and some Democrats are suggesting that the city's taxes need to be lowered to compete with Virginia. But an article in The Washington Business Journal yesterday highlighted a new report from the D.C. Tax Revision Commission suggesting that not only are the District's effective tax rates comparable to Virginia's, but that Maryland's effective corporate tax rates may be lower than those in Northern Virginia. In a comparison of DC, Prince George's and Northern Virginia corporate taxes, Montgomery and Prince George's Counties are actually listed as having the lowest effective tax burden of all the local jurisdictions (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL: D.C.’s reputation as a high tax jurisdiction may be fueled by its highest-in-the-region corporate income tax rate of 9.975 percent, its nearly 10 percent business franchise tax rate and complex rules for pass-through entities, especially where Virginia residents are concerned.

But the overall tax burden is a combination of every levy, and D.C. fares quite well when they’re all tossed together. The study compares, in a variety of situations, what a fictional corporation with $30 million of total revenue and $2.4 million of income before taxes would pay in D.C., Alexandria and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Fairfax and Arlington counties.

In the case of a corporation with a single location, the business would pay $263,738 in annual taxes to the District, $264,424 in Arlington, $261,574 in Alexandria, $246,432 in Fairfax, $220,418 in Prince George’s and $216,378 in Montgomery.

If the business has no taxable income to report (and many do not, some by design) then D.C.’s relatively low gross receipts tax and its healthy incentives for qualified high technology companies keep it competitive with Maryland, while the Virginia burden can soar as a result of the Business, Professional, Occupancy License tax, according to the study....

Notably, The Washington Post reported last month that Attorney General Doug Gansler called for a lowering of Maryland's corporate tax rate, citing an unfriendly business climate compared to Virginia (excerpt below):

WASHINGTON POST: Douglas F. Gansler, a leading Democratic hopeful for Maryland governor, said Thursday that he wants to cut the state’s corporate income tax rate to the same level as Virginia’s, embracing a cause that has been pushed primarily by Republicans.

Gansler, Maryland’s attorney general, said that reducing the rate from 8.25 percent to 6 percent would help the state compete for jobs against Virginia, which he has repeatedly characterized as more aggressive and business-friendly than Maryland....

This political movement for a corporate tax cut in Maryland reminds me of other misleading advocacy we've seen in the Free State in recent years, with some Democrats alleging our state is business unfriendly and misleadingly claiming millionaires were fleeing Maryland for Virginia.

David Moon at Rapid Transit press conference

JUICE #4: MOCO COUNCIL BEGINS HEARINGS ON RAPID TRANSIT PLAN, WHILE VIRGINIA WILL OPEN TWO RAPID TRANSIT LINES NEXT YEAR - In Maryland Juice's opinion, one area where Virginia has been making itself more competitive than Maryland is in getting transportation infrastructure built more quickly than in the Free State. Virginia officials succeeded in funding the new Metro Silver Line to Dulles and are now building two "bus rapid transit" lines in Alexandria and Arlington. Virginia also passed a transportation funding package this year and many believe that their effort to raise these infrastructure funds was critical in pushing Maryland lawmakers to adopt their own transportation funding plan. 

In an effort to preempt our own growing traffic and environmental problems, Montgomery County officials are proposing a 10-line Rapid Transit System (RTS) that would run modern buses in dedicated transit lanes along many major transportation corridors throughout the county. The plan has support from a range of environmental, civic, and business groups including the local Sierra Club, CASA de Maryland, MoCo Young Democrats, Jews United for Justice, Chesapeake Climate Action Network and more. The County Council held the first of two public hearings on the project last night, and the news media is now tuning in to the debate in Montgomery County. Below you can see two quick articles on the MoCo RTS plan that appeared this morning in WAMU and Bethesda Now (excerpts below):

WAMU: A coalition of 32 groups representing civic associations, environmental activists, smart growth advocates, and real estate developers testified in favor of constructing an 80-mile bus rapid transit (BRT) network in Montgomery County over the next decade during the first public hearing held on the issue by the County Council Tuesday night.

The hearing officially began what will be a months-long public process that will culminate in county legislators deciding whether to build what observers say is the most cost-effective way to cope with crushing traffic congestion. Montgomery County’s population—already bulging at one million people in 500 square miles—is expected to grow substantially.

“Our task force recommended a 160-mile system. An [80-mile] system is a good start. We hope it gets fully implemented and when it is successful the county will add additional corridors,” said Mark Winston, the chair of county executive Ike Leggett’s transit task force and chairman of the group Communities For Transit.

While building heavy Metro rail costs hundreds of millions per mile (see: Silver Line; 23 miles, $6 billion) or a light rail system costs tens of millions per mile (see: Purple Line; 16 miles, $2.2 billion), bus rapid transit is relatively cheap. Winston estimates the county’s BRT network could run $15 to $25 million per mile in capital costs. During the hearing a representative of Leggett’s office was unable to provide a cost estimate.

The BRT network will require building new lanes for buses as well as repurposing existing car lanes with traffic signal prioritization, otherwise the express buses would just sit in traffic with everyone else....

Alexandria is constructing a BRT network which is set to open in 2014 consisting of a new median bus lane along most of the route and repurposed curb lanes within Crystal City. Other major cities are pursuing BRT; Cleveland, Oakland, and Los Angeles have decided to dedicate general traffic lanes just to transit. 

Full disclosure: As noted in the Bethesda Now article below, Maryland Juice blogger David Moon is currently working for Communities for Transit, a nonprofit group conducting public education activities on the Montgomery County Rapid Transit System (excerpt below):

BETHESDA NOW: “The fundamental premise behind this is that our traffic is bad and our traffic is not going to get better, and that should not be news to any of you,” Councilmember Roger Berliner said. “We can’t afford to build more subways and we can’t afford to build any more light rail after the Purple Line. We have only one real option and that is rapid transit. It is, without a doubt, the most cost-effective, flexible option that is available to us. And it is a proven option....”

Kelly Blynn from the Coalition for Smarter Growth and David Moon from newly-formed advocacy group Communities For Transit introduced a coalition of 30 environmental, civic, business and development groups that supports the plan in a press conference before the public hearing.... 

"This movement has really got broad support," Moon said. "All of these groups have come behind this idea that the rapid transit system is a visionary, game-changing, catalytic project for traffic reduction, sustainable environmentalism in Montgomery County and economic development...."

[Councilmember Marc] Elrich got in a back-and-forth with North Bethesda civic activist Paula Bienenfeld, who claimed the bus rapid transit plan would mean the taking of 3,000 properties. That won’t be determined in the master plan process. Other opponents claimed the bus rapid transit system was a gift for developers.

“I’m not gonna respond to every misstatement that was made. We’re not going to take 3,000 properties from people,” Elrich said after Bienenfeld’s testimony. “I’m probably the last person on earth, or at least in this room, that would do something on behalf of developers. …There’s no way our roads can handle what’s coming.”

Below you can see a map of the proposed Montgomery County Rapid Transit System, as well as some photos of the Arlington-Alexandria "bus rapid transit" systems due to open next year:

MONTGOMERY COUNTY RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM MAP

 

NORTHERN VIRGINIA "BUS RAPID TRANSIT" CONSTRUCTION

JUICE #5: WEST VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS REJECT FORMER MARYLAND GOP CHAIR ALEX MOONEY - Maryland Juice caught an amusing column today in Martinsburg, West Virginia's Journal newspaper. Former Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney recently left the Free State to run for a congressional seat in nearby West Virginia, but it appears that our neighbors are not thrilled at the prospect of electing Mooney (excerpt below):

JEFF WERNER (VIA THE JOURNAL): Congressional Candidate for District 2 and failed Maryland GOP Chair Alex Mooney, who states he was "exiled," is going back to Maryland for a massive fundraiser.

It is very concerning that a pro-choice GOP candidate who was chased from Maryland would go back there to get more campaign dollars. He formed an exploratory committee to run for retired Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's seat, and he raised $100,000. When it was determined that Roscoe was going to run again, Alex stopped his campaign and decided to move to Falling Waters, W.Va., to run for Congress and brought that money with him, not that he would even think of returning it to those he took from.

Alex Mooney presented a bill while still Maryland state senator to fund abortions for the mentally ill with tax dollars. He can't go around stating he is pro-life and state he will fight the pro-choice "zealots" in Congress; that would go against his own principles. But as a former resident of Maryland who knows Alex, it doesn't surprise me that he would fib to the electorate of District 2.

Alex Mooney was also for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants on the backs of Maryland taxpayers in 2003, a bill he supported and was vetoed. It violated the 1996 Federal Immigration Reform Act regarding Post Secondary Education for Illegal Immigrants and Foreign Nationals.

Mooney, while Maryland state senator, also supported bills that would have increased taxes/fees in Maryland. I have his voting record.

If you look up Alex Mooney on Google, you will find his resignation from the Md. GOP chairmanship. He was under heavy pressure to resign due to his lack of leadership skills....

BOOK OF REVELATIONS: Reports Reveal Anti-Marriage Equality Donors // Ehrlich Robocall Consultant Cuts Big Checks

The latest campaign finance filings have been released regarding Maryland's marriage equality battle, and there are several newsworthy items in the disclosures. Below Maryland Juice provides comment from anonymous readers, as well as a press release from the Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign:

REVELATION #1: EHRLICH'S VOTER SUPPRESSION GURU IS SINGLE-HANDEDLY FINANCING A GROUP OPPOSED TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY - The most interesting tidbit from the campaign finance reports is that a new anti-civil rights group called "Jump the Broom for Marriage" (aka JTBM) is receiving almost all of its financing from Julius Henson, who was recently convicted of voter suppression efforts for GOP Governor Bob Ehrlich. Indeed, $21,000 of the $21,881 raised by JTBM is from Mr. Henson. In 2010, Henson taped a robocall telling African American voters they didn't need to turn out for the  election. Now he is trying to mislead Maryland's voters (and cowboys) into thinking their children will somehow be harmed by the passage of marriage equality:

ANONYMOUS READER: You may have already followed up on this -- but see attached for the campaign finance report from Jump the Broom for Marriages. Of the $21,881 in contribution the campaign took in -- $21,000 were from Julius Henson (Ehrlich's robo call campaign flak). Henson also donated another $7k in-kind, so this "ballot committee" is really just a wholly owned hobby of Julius Henson.

I realize there are lots of other campaign finance stories today -- but just thought to follow up on this to show that along with Frank Schubert (the Karl Rove of marriage ballot initiatives), the folks who are working to defeat marriage equality are a compromised bunch. Harry Jackson, Derek McCoy and Julius Henson are all cut from the same cloth -- they have multiple judgments against them in the court system, mostly for failure to pay their debts, and they make a living spreading invective and lies. Birds of a feather, really.

REVELATION #2: LEADER OF MARYLAND'S BIGGEST ANTI-MARRIAGE EQUALITY GROUP DODGES TAXES - In yet another sign of moral hypocrisy from Maryland's preachy stone-throwers, The Washington Blade reported this week that the head of the Maryland Marriage Alliance (aka MMA) doesn't like to pay taxes. Derek McCoy is the leader of MMA, which is the main group organizing opposition to civil rights in Maryland. Marylander's anti-civil rights leaders recently placed a "curse" on The Washington Blade (good luck with that one). See an excerpt from the Blade's report below:

WASHINGTON BLADE: The Washngton Blade has learned that the Internal Revenue Service in 2011 filed a lien against the executive director of the group challenging Maryland’s same-sex marriage law for more than $32,000 in unpaid taxes.. The filing notes he had an unpaid balance of $22,940.32 for the tax period that ended on Dec. 31, 2002. The document further indicates that McCoy had an unpaid balance of $9,646.07 for the tax period that ended on Dec. 31, 2003.

McCoy, who is executive director of the Maryland Marriage Alliance, is an associate pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, the same congregation headed by Bishop  Harry Jackson who claimed late last month he placed a “curse” on the Blade two months before the newspaper’s parent company’s Nov. 2009 bankruptcy forced it to temporarily shut down.

REVELATION #3: MARRIAGE EQUALITY SUPPORTERS RAISE MONEY FROM THOUSANDS OF DONORS // OPPONENTS FUNDED BY HANDFUL OF RICH EXTREMISTS - A press release from Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the group pushing a "vote for" marriage equality (Question 6), shows a stark contrast between supporters and opponents of civil rights. The pro-marriage equality side counts over 9,000 donors, while the haters are being funded by a small group of 300 wealthy haters and religious extremists. See the press release below:

PRESS RELEASE

Campaign Filings Show Stark Differences Between Supporters, Foes of Question 6

BALTIMORE - Both sides of the Question 6 referendum in Maryland submitted their campaign funding reports yesterday, revealing a significant difference in the number of individual donors to the two camps. Marylanders for Marriage Equality, which raised $3.2 million to date, produced 950 pages of contributions in a report that includes over 9,000 donors. The Maryland Marriage Alliance raised $830,000 and filed a 40-page report including just 300 donors.

"We'll let the massive gap between our number of individual donors and theirs speak for itself," said Josh Levin. "Our opponents raised almost 80% of their funds from two secretive organizations that don't disclose their donors, yet we've still raised more from Maryland residents alone than they have overall. The campaign for marriage equality is powered by Marylanders who are giving their time and dollars to protect fairness and equality under the law.”

MMA's primary funding came from the National Organization for Marriage at $400,000, Knights of Columbus at $250,000, and MMA itself at $151,000 (in un-itemized funds raised before its ballot committee was established). These three account for $801,000 of the total 838,000 in contributions. The remaining $37,000 is from about 300 donors. Maryland Catholic Conference made about $11,500 in in-kind contributions.

The MMA’s Derek McCoy has frequently claimed Marylanders for Marriage Equality receives "millions" from "movie stars."

"The disclosure highlights a larger point: our opponents are misinforming - and sometimes outright lying to - voters,” said Levin.

Marylanders for Marriage Equality is the diverse coalition made up of 1199 SEIU of Maryland, NAACP Baltimore, ACLU of Maryland, Equality Maryland, the Human Rights Campaign and more working to protect marriage on the November ballot.

###

MORE ON MD'S BATTLE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS SOON!

Montgomery County Workers Pound Ike Leggett Over $900,000 Tax Cut Plan for Lockheed Martin // #OccupyMoCo Plans Protest

A source within Montgomery County's government reports that MCGEO -- the union representing thousands of county government employees -- is generating a large number of emails to county politicians today: "FYI. The email below was just sent out and the emails are already flooding into the council."

The trigger for MCGEO's advocacy campaign is a proposal from County Executive Ike Leggett to give defense contractor Lockheed Martin nearly one million dollars a year in tax cuts. In an email blast today, the government workers condemn Leggett's proposal and ask members to write to county officials. They also invite readers to attend a protest this Thursday at the County Council that is being organized by a local #Occupy group. Notably, the Council is holding public hearings on the budget this week. Maryland Juice prints MCGEO's email blast and the #Occupy invitation below:

April 11, 2012 Oppose Corporate Welfare to Lockheed Martin! Mr. Leggett is at it again. The County Executive has proposed a corporate welfare package totalling $5 MILLION dollars - giving a $900,000 grant to corporate giant Lockheed Martin, no strings attached! Read more here. Two years ago, the Montgomery County Council tried to pass a bill that would forgive $450,000 in hotel taxes to Lockheed. Because of community outrage, the Council tabled the bill and the proposal failed! This latest attempt at coddling  an ultra-rich corporation without regard to the County's taxpayers who end up paying the freight is downright outrageous! MCGEO is testifying against this ridiculous example of corporate welfare on tomorrow at 1:30pm when the County Council will take up Mr. Leggett’s budget.  It is outrageous to offer this super-rich corporation a gift of almost a million dollars when Montgomery County is cutting all kinds of services and is asking the average taxpayer to pay more. Click here to tell Mr. Leggett and the County Council that you object to this proposal. Unjustifiable Corporate Welfare "The only justification – ever – for corporate welfare is ironclad proof that the alternative is a net loss of wealth – in jobs and tax revenue – for the unwealthy. Not an iota of evidence exits for either in this case." The "Lockheed Tax" Most of Lockheed's revenue comes from contracts with the federal government. In 2008, $36 billion of their sales came from federal contracts and $29 billion from the Pentagon. One expert calculated that each taxpaying household contributes roughly $260 in the “Lockheed tax.” And Mr. Leggett wants US TO SUBSIDIZE THEM MORE? Click here to tell Mr. Leggett and the County Council that you object to this proposal. Send a letter! Tell the county council you object to this corporate give-away! Click here to send a letter to the County Council. Protest this plan! Occupy Montgomery County is organizing a protest outside the Council offices, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville. Join the protest outside, from 6 to 8 p.m.

MEDIA ADVISORY for Thursday April 12, 2012

Occupy Montgomery County To Protest Tax Giveaway To Lockheed Martin

As schools are forced to trim budgets, county considers cutting taxes for war profiteer

ROCKVILLE, MD – Occupy Montgomery County, a group of residents who have joined together to build community and amplify voices of the 99% in America’s 12th richest county, are protesting a proposed tax giveaway to Lockheed Martin in the 2013 county budget.

The Montgomery County Council is holding public hearings this week on County Executive Ike Leggett’s 2013 budget proposal. Among Leggett’s proposals is a recommendation to grant Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin a controversial $900,000 tax grant. The county council has rejected such giveaways for the company in the past. And the newly formed Occupy Montgomery County will be taking action to make sure they do the same this year.

The following is a statement from the group:

 “A company that in 2010 derived fully 84 percent of its profit from taxpayer dollars has absolutely no business siphoning much-needed resources from the people of Montgomery County. At a time when teachers are being laid off and schoolchildren are being stuffed into overcrowded classrooms, Lockheed Martin needs to pay its fair share. They can certainly afford to: the company paid its CEO $21.9 million and spent another $15.9 million on lobbying. The question is this: will our elected county officials invest in war profiteering merchants of death? Or a future for our children? We intend to make sure they make the right choice.”

WHERE: 100 Maryland Ave, Stella B. Werner Council Office Building, Rockville, MD

WHEN: Thursday, April 12 6 pm

FOR MORE INFORMATION: visit www.occupymocomd.org

RUH ROH: Biggest Maryland Counties Launch Grassroots Effort to Fight Shift of Teacher Pension Costs from State to County

Maryland Juice woke up today to discover that many of the Free State's politically influential counties have banded together to fight a proposal to shift the cost of teachers' pensions from the State to Maryland's various counties. A new website and advocacy effort called "Stop the Shift" launched today:

Last month, Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett called the proposal a "non-starter." But Capital News Service reported that the Senate President was putting his muscle behind the proposal:

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said Tuesday morning that he supports the shift, calling it “a fair and equitable way to assist the counties while balancing the budget.” 

Notably, the Hagerstown Herald-Mail indicates that Democratic Senate President Mike Miller borrowed the pension shift idea from Republican Senate leaders:

Two years ago, [6th Congressional District GOP candidate David Brinkley] and Sen.E.J. Pipkin, the current Senate minority leader, crafted an alternative plan to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s proposed budget. Elements of the alternative plan were adopted, Brinkley said.

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:

DCCC: "Representative Bartlett Votes For Higher Taxes and Higher Medicare Premiums, Protects Billionaires"

PRESS RELEASE

This evening, Representative Roscoe Bartlett (MD-06) voted to force a $1,000 payroll tax hike on 3.2 million middle income Maryland families and raise Medicare premiums for seniors instead of ending tax breaks for billionaires. While voting for higher Medicare premiums for seniors in retirement, Bartlett even voted against cutting his own Congressional retirement pension.

Bartlett had previously voted three times to let these payroll taxes go up by $1,000 while letting House Republicans leave Washington for their holiday vacation.

“Representative Roscoe Bartlett is forcing a $1,000 middle income tax increase on 3.2 million Maryland families and higher Medicare premiums for seniors in order to protect tax breaks for billionaires,” said Jesse Ferguson of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Bartlett even opposed savings from his own Congressional pension while voting to raise taxes on middle income Maryland families and raise Medicare premiums for seniors. Roscoe Bartlett’s priorities shined through today — higher taxes for the middle class and health care costs for seniors while the ultra wealthy get more tax breaks.”

This afternoon, the Associated Press reported that Bartlett’s vote would mean “Millions who don’t consider themselves wealthy would also end up paying more” in Medicare premiums.

Background

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!"

Maryland Millionaire to Rep. Chris Van Hollen & Deficit Supercommittee // Tax Me, Roll Back Bush Tax Cuts

UPDATE:  Through a message sent to Maryland Juice on Twitter, Netrino President Michael Barr confirms that he is indeed the Maryland millionaire in question.

The LA Times ran an eye-grabbing headline earlier this week: "Millionaires group to lobby for higher taxes -- on themselves." Their article was about a renewed push by politically active millionaires to persuade Congress to roll back the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. This week the millionaires, operating under the name "Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength," focused on members of the "Deficit Super-Committee," like Maryland's Rep. Chris Van Hollen:

As the deadline nears for the congressional “super committee” to come up with a deficit-slashing plan, a group of people who have made $1 million a year or more is pressing lawmakers to raise tax rates on the nation’s highest income earners.

Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength, an organization formed in 2010, said it’s sending a delegation of 21 members to Washington on Wednesday to seek meetings with super committee senators and representatives.

The group’s message: “Any super committee deal that does not include higher taxes for millionaires should be killed....”

Patriotic Millionaires was formed a year ago as Congress debated whether to extend the personal income tax cuts that took effect during President George W. Bush’s first term. Ultimately, Congress and President Obama agreed on a two-year extension of the cuts.

But Obama in September called for a new tax on millionaires as a way to raise revenue.

At a minimum, the millionaires group wants the top tax rate for the highest earners to return to 39.6%, from the current 35%, according to Erica Payne, a spokeswoman for the organization....

The group says it has about 200 members in all, including more than a dozen current and former Google employees, actress Edie Falco and economist Nouriel Roubini.

Maryland Juice checked out the millionaires' website and noted that the group's public signers include 5 Virginia millionaires, 3 District of Columbia millionaires and only 1 Maryland millionaire....

Maryland & MoCo in 2020: Business Leaders Make "Altruistic" Suggestions As Defense Jobs Bubble Bursts

Lately, area politicians have gone out of their way to seek the input of small business owners, independent contractors, and ordinary residents as they decide who to screw over in budget decisions, when setting tax rates or otherwise making cuts. Indeed, voters should sleep easy at night knowing that policymakers are getting advice from altruistic sources. Maryland Reporter today, for example, highlighted this recent meeting of the Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates:

Comptroller Peter Franchot concluded “there is a sense of uneasiness about the economy” after three hours of testimony from Maryland business executives at a Board of Revenue Estimates meeting on Tuesday.

“You—the private sector – are going to lead us out of this,” Franchot told the business representatives. “I think it calls for a lot of caution.” In recent weeks, Franchot has repeatedly urged no new taxes or fees in the coming year....

Franchot said, “I was surprised at that the call for caution,” though that’s what he’s been preaching himself. He pointed to the new toll hikes for highway, bridges and tunnels, the proposed increases in the gas tax, and proposed increases in the flush tax for Chesapeake Bay restoration.

“You could reach the tipping point very quickly” for consumers who don’t have much money, Franchot said.

Sorry, but that tipping point feels like it is here, and it doesn't feel like the alarm is leading to shared sacrifice. To state a few uncontroversial facts: Maryland has rolled back the millionaire's tax, increased fees and tolls on average residents, ramped up collection of revenues from tickets and other punitive measures, brought gambling revenue to the State, is currently debating two regressive taxes (ie: an online "Amazon.com" sales tax and a gas tax increase), and has not passed legislation to close corporate tax dodges. Maryland Juice makes no comment on any of the proposals above (and in some instances I even support them), but I am struggling to point to equal sacrifices from the very people who are essentially asking legislators to force more "hard decisions" down the road (ie: more cuts and pain onto voters). If you disagree, I encourage you to cite instances in the comments.

Transitioning the Region's Economy: But here is an equally large problem that we don't appear to be wrestling with in our public dialogue. Defense spending, which has recently propped up the area's federal spending, is definitely going to decline for the forseeable future. Remember that President Obama is making good on his promise to pull out of Iraq? Ain't nothin' we can do about that. Combine that with the fact that the Pentagon isn't in Maryland and there is a (soon to be Metro-connected) international airport and concentration of existing defense jobs over the border, and you can see that we need to diversify our portfolio. (We still appreciate Lockheed's presence in MoCo, but that doesn't mean all tax and budget policy should be geared toward them!). To be fair, many Maryland leaders are already launching Maryland 2.0b with new investment in biotech, green and other industries.

Who is Bloated?: But still, these arguments from business leaders about taxes persist, and some politicians love to keep taking them at face value. Riddle me this.... Are corporations in Maryland willing to abide by the golden rule? Do unto others.... Because for the last few years, Chamber representatives have been marching into public hearings to testify on the need for government to trim spending and reduce its workforce costs. To do otherwise would be irresponsible, they claimed. Maryland, after all, had become bloated at the expense of Federal largesse and overspending. But apparently, area defense contractors have been behaving no differently. The Maryland Reporter article in question also noted the following:

There was considerable trepidation about the impact the decisions on federal budget cuts by the congressional Supercommittee could have on Maryland...

Jose Boluda of Northrup Grumman’s Electronic Systems Sector in Linthicum said that his company “has been working under a flat budget” for several years. He said that a defense industry group has estimated that proposed Defense Department cuts could cause the loss of 18,000 to 36,000 jobs at Maryland defense contractors, many of them in research and development.

He said the company was concerned by “any of these things that make us less competitive,” such as tax hikes.

No Tit for Tat: Indeed, as Maryland and Montgomery County transition their economies, it seems important to play devil's advocate for a second. If we are going to adopt the market-based solutions espoused by the business leaders, shouldn't we tell them not to be hypocritical? If their companies got fat during an era of Federal largesse, perhaps they need to shrink, become less bloated, downsize, adjust to the new economic reality, etc? If the R&D jobs are in danger, maybe they need to rethink the applications of their research and find new non-defense uses for their workers. After all, that's what they want us to do with government workers and their pensions and health benefits: retool or cut. But Maryland Juice is not making that aggressive counter-argument because these defense contractors are also Maryland Democrats, Republicans, shoppers, taxpayers, etc. We want everyone to stay, and we want to grow jobs, too. But I don't feel like the corporations are being team players. Do you?

That's why testimony earlier this week from GMU Professor Stephen Fuller has been causing a buzz in Montgomery County this week.

Bechtel Receives $9.5 Million Loan from Maryland, Still Moves Hundreds of Jobs to Virginia // The Story Emerges (Ignore the GOP)

In the midst of constant budget shortfalls, one of the tricky problems arising in Maryland (and perhaps others states), is that various corporations are shotgunning politicians with threats to move to Virginia if we don't hand over millions in taxpayer subsidies, loans, credits, etc. Bechtel was the latest participant in this game, having just received $9.5 million in loans from Maryland in exchange for keeping over 1,000 of its employees in Frederick.

Yesterday, we discovered they are still moving hundreds of jobs to Virginia, even after receiving the loan. Apparently some of those who negotiated the deal may have known that at the time of the loan. The Washington Post reported, "Some Democratic lawmakers all but acknowledged at the time that some Bechtel jobs would move out of state, and probably to Virginia." Now the full story appears to be emerging, and it is important to understand it, because already the anti-tax advocates are back at it claiming Bechtel moved the jobs because of high taxes:

...some Maryland Republicans who had supported the loan said last week that they were surprised to learn the company would still move several hundred jobs, and they blamed Maryland’s tax rates.

What a crock. Bechtel had apparently been talking about moving one of its divisions to Virginia for months and tax policy doesn't seem to be involved. Damn the evidence -- somehow the GOP always finds a way to complain that taxes are too high. Nevertheless, The Gazette reported:

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.....

Tea Party-Aligned Maryland Think Tank Admits Real Goal: Cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid

UPDATE: The AARP is now teeing up spots to defend seniors' entitlements from cuts. Like I said, let's bring the GOP's 3-point platform below to Florida!

Maryland Juice earlier this week criticized Tea Party politicians for supporting policies that would hurt their constituents, and we implied that some of them were being phony in their support for eliminating government. Everyone breath a sigh of relief, because the Maryland Public Policy Institute (MPPI) responded by basically saying: a) these policies really do work, and b) Tea Party politicians really do believe this stuff.

Maryland Juice thought it was worth pointing out which policies MPPI is supporting. Below we highlight some of MPPI's suggestions, with some very brief commentary. This is not intended to be an issue review, just a sampler:

BREAKING: Anne Arundel Councilman Daryl Jones Pleads Guilty to 5 Years of Unfiled Taxes

Here's a quick newsclip on this breaking development. The Baltimore Sun reports:

An Anne Arundel County Councilman pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to a single count of failing to file a tax return.

Councilman Daryl D. Jones, a Democrat from Severn who is serving his second four-year term on the County Council, entered the plea in Baltimore before U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Hollander.

Assistant U.S Attorney Gregory Bockin said in court that Jones failed to file both his personal and corporate tax returns for five years — from 2002 to 2007. Under a plea agreement, Jones will pay back the loss to the government pegged at $108,369.57.