Commentary

Recent media reports have revealed that the Hogan Administration is closing its capital budget meetings to legislative staff members. The capital budget ($5.2 billion this year) deals with construction projects and other big-ticket items that the state can fund with bonds. Legislative staff have been invited to these meetings back at least to the administration of Governor Harry Hughes in the 1970s and ‘80s. This move is well within the rights of the governor and his budget staff. Still, it is a step backward.

Just 1 in 4 Americans believe that President Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act will actually reduce inflation, while 71 percent say the law will either have no impact or make things worse. The majority is right to be skeptical. The nonpartisan Penn Wharton Budget Model found that the bill’s effect on inflation will be “statistically indistinguishable from zero.” This is not surprising. The real purpose of the bill is not to reduce inflation but to reduce climate change. Fully 85 percent of the law’s spending goes toward climate and clean energy.

Federal income tax rates range from 10 percent in the lowest income bracket to 37 percent at the highest bracket. At the state level, Maryland levies progressive rates ranging from 2 percent to 5.75 percent. This might suggest that the rich face substantially higher tax rates than the poor. Yet, a holistic examination of the income tax code reveals the opposite: Low-income households face the steepest tax rates, and Maryland makes it worse. What explains this counterintuitive trend? Means testing: a determination of whether a household is eligible for the full amount, partial amount, or none of a government benefit based on their income. For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit withdraws $21 for each $100 of earnings above $19,520, for parents with two children. This is equivalent to taxing that parent at a 21 percent rate. Either way, the

I don’t claim to know exactly how Lynn Weisberg feels, nearly two years after her son’s death, but I can empathize with her frustration in trying to get information about it. Official sources — the Baltimore City Fire Department and the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems — have refused to discuss how emergency medical personnel treated Weisberg’s 44-year-old son, Jeremy Davidson, in the last 90 minutes of his life. The BCFD and the MIEMSS cited state law in denying my requests for the results of any investigations that might have taken place after Davidson’s death.

The Inflation Reduction Act, recently signed into law by President Biden, is a landmark moment in our effort to address climate change and improve American health care. Because the bill is so dense, we thought it would be useful to detail the enormous benefits the law will generate for families, homeowners, seniors, small businesses and communities across Maryland and the country.

Despite what you may have heard, the deal negotiated to win the support of coal baron Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), is not a big victory for the climate. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law last week, epitomizes the egregious legislative compromises that plague climate action — and offers key lessons for Maryland legislators. We can celebrate the IRA’s investments in renewable energy while also being clear-eyed about the alarming trade-offs it took to get here.

I vividly remember the day. Already an avid sports fan and aspiring young athlete, my love affair was cemented on one gorgeous afternoon in the summer of 1968. It was my first Orioles game. The excitement built as we drove up 33rd Street and caught a glimpse of Memorial Stadium off in the distance. Not one to fight the traffic on the parking lot, much less pay the $4 fee for the right to park right next to the ballpark, my dad weaved his way through the adjacent neighborhoods until we found a spot on the street.

Despite what you may have heard, the deal negotiated to win the support of coal baron Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), is not a big victory for the climate. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law last week, epitomizes the egregious legislative compromises that plague climate action — and offers key lessons for Maryland legislators. We can celebrate the IRA’s investments in renewable energy while also being clear-eyed about the alarming trade-offs it took to get here. Democratic leadership has achieved green investment at the expense of decades of new pollution. Loopholes in the act encourage “carbon capture,” an unproven, unrealistic technology scheme with a failing track record; fossil fuel-backed hydrogen production; and expanded fossil fuel drilling and fracking on public lands and waters.