Commentary

As the effects of the coronavirus continue to reshape our state and our world, 2022 will see several factors accelerating the shift to a more digital, hybrid future. In the year ahead, there will be a continued focus on digital transformation as the driving force creating value for business owners. In 2022, it will be critical for companies to further digitize their offerings and operations using new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and data analytics.

For nearly 60 years, U.S. law enforcement authorities have been required to advise suspects of their right not to self-incriminate. The Miranda Warning, including the phrase “you have the right to remain silent,” has become so ingrained in the culture that it’s a routine plot point on most TV crime dramas. But what happens when someone in police custody doesn’t really comprehend Miranda rights that cover not just a 5th Amendment right to stay silent but a 6th Amendment right to counsel? Such is often the case with juvenile defendants.

The number one job of government is to keep people safe. But the government has been failing to do its job in Baltimore. A recently-released report revealed that the number one cause of unexpected death of Baltimore children is homicide: 93% of youth killed by people who were not related to them were shot; 69% of the victims had been previously charged in the juvenile justice system, and 40% had been suspended from school at least twice in the last year. Guns are killing our young people, and kids who get into trouble at school are at greater risk of becoming murder victims themselves.

American history teaches that every occupant of the White House gets two presidencies: the one he planned for and the one that events thrust upon him. President Biden’s first State of the Union address was his opportunity to lay out how he proposes to lead through the presidency he has been forced to conduct by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s world-changing invasion of Ukraine.

The recent commentary by Jason Stanek, chair of the Maryland Public Service Commission, argues essentially that the PSC doesn’t need the General Assembly’s input as our state plans how to modernize the electricity distribution grid. Trust us, he suggests. While we respect the PSC’s role in overseeing Maryland’s utilities, I must disagree with his contention that legislative guidance isn’t appropriate.

I once asked a friend to describe Boston, never having been there myself. His reply inspired envy, not so much of Boston, but of the word he used to describe Baltimore in comparison. His word choice was so brilliant that I wished I had thought of it. “Boston,” he said, “is like Baltimore before it got ruined.” I thought of this after reading about the 16-year-old who just turned himself in for the murder of 52-year-old Cheryl McCormack on White Avenue in January.

Not since 9/11 has an unprovoked hostility been so clearly defined as good versus evil. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has, if nothing else, sidestepped the usual vagaries of who started what or who is the victim and who is the aggressor. On the one side is Ukraine, a sovereign nation. the second largest in land mass in Europe. On the other is Russia’s authoritarian ruler, Vladimir Putin, with an enormous military and an unbridled desire to return his country back to the Soviet Union days.

How does one measure a society’s greatness? By its military might? By its wealth? By its natural beauty, architecture or founding documents? Here’s a yardstick that came to mind recently: how it treats its most vulnerable members. As the United States enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s more than half-million homeless people certain qualify as among the most vulnerable. The group is disproportionately made up of people of color who are more likely to have dealt with disability, addiction, mental health issues and incarceration.

Labor shortages and high unemployment are defining characteristics of the economic fallout of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. With the General Assembly in the thick of its 2022 legislative session, one of the top priorities for us and our Democratic colleagues is helping get Marylanders back to work. As part of that effort, we are proud to be sponsoring legislation to expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, a proven program that encourages employers to hire Marylanders who have trouble finding a job.