A Baltimore Business Journal report from July 2008 indicates that Maryland slipped two places on Forbes’ list of best states to do business.  The state ranked 40th in the country for business costs, which include the price of energy, labor and taxes to employ workers in Maryland.

And a Business Week report published October 3rd, indicates that Maryland faces a projected 7.7% budget gap, roughly $1.1 billion dollars, which places the state in the top ten states unable to pay for themselves.  According to the report, which cites data released at the end of September from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Maryland may well join California in going to Washington for a bailout to help pay salaries for firemen, teachers and other state employees.

We are living in difficult economic times.

But living in Maryland under the current administration is going to become more difficult.  Just look at the last two years to see the trends begin.

Since Martin O’Malley took office, nearly 8,000 jobs have been lost.  The state legislature passed a $1.4 billion dollar tax hike that failed to produce expected revenues when the economy and housing market took a nose dive.

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The Baltimore Sun reported last week

The Maryland Senate Republican Caucus voted unanimously…to elect Sen. Allan H. Kittleman as minority leader and Sen. Nancy Jacobs as the minority whip, elevating a moderate and a social conservative to the leadership posts…

So how should the election of minority leadership change the way Republicans “do business” in Annapolis?

The majority of the state’s Republican voters support smaller government and fewer taxes.  And in light of O’Malley’s recent cuts to the state budget, you would think that the new leadership would have seized the moment to make a public announcement supporting the Governor’s action instead of complaining that the cuts hurt State employees.

To be the opposition party does not always require lobbing shots at the other side from across party lines.  It also does not require failing to recognize achievements on the other side that support your stated position.

In short, it is not the responsibility of the government to provide jobs for the people.

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In the Maryland Daily Record

In MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., Constellation Energy Group would not only get an owner with access to the vast cash reserves of Berkshire Hathaway Corp., but also one that can be aggressive in pushing its agenda with regulators.

This should set up a true contest of wills.   On the one side, MidAmerican, controlled by investor Warren Buffett, has a history of aggressively spending on electric infrastructure projects, which Maryland sorely needs.  Recent estimates suggest that Maryland will face power blackouts as early as 2011 if more generation or transmission is not developed to meet the increasing demand.

Should MidAmerican use their Iowa model, Maryland could see electricity generated by a mix of coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewable sources.  The Daily Record reports that in Iowa, “55 percent of [MidAmerican's] facilities are fired by coal, 22 percent by natural gas and 10 percent by nuclear power. The remaining 13 percent comes from other sources.”

It would be reasonable to assume that such a model could work in Maryland, which has ready access to coal reserves in western Maryland and West Virginia.

However, this produces a legislative problem for Maryland.  Passage of the Health Air Act in April 2006 requires Maryland coal-fired power plants to install technology to reduce emissions emissions of sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides and mercury. It also calls for Maryland to join a regional pact to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 10 percent by 2019.

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From a conservative perspective, the zoning rewrite in Harford County provides residents with considerable upside.

Let’s state the obvious:  With its scenic rural vistas and close proximity to Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia, Harford County proved to be an attractive location for the many families who moved here in the late 80s, taking advantages of the designated growth area and reduced land costs for housing.  With Interstate 95 running through it, it was, and continues to be, an attractive location for businesses looking for ready transport of goods and services to urban population centers.

And with the County currently facing the increased housing, infrastructure and retail pressures associated with the BRAC mandate, officials must determine how to manage the growth efficiently and effectively.

Growth always creates additional business opportunities.  Where there are increased businesses, there are more jobs.  Where there are jobs, there are people.  And with rising consumer uncertainty about fuel costs, more people are choosing to live where they work.  This choice creates demand for housing, schools and additional infrastructure, which in turn create tax revenue at the state and county level.

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Apparently my postings on Maryland’s looming fiscal crisis, including failed O’Malley economic policies and graphics depicting Maryland job losses, are getting some attention.  I will be discussing these issues, as well as my experience at the RNC, reaction to Governor Palin and conservative blogging in general.

Tune into the live broadcast tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9 AM on WBAL – 1090 AM!

The recent discussions regarding long-term leasing of the Seagirt Terminal and MTA transit woes reveal the hypocrisy of Maryland’s largely Democratic leadership regarding its commitment to maintain the State business assets that have the most potential to boost Maryland’s faltering economy.

The Sun paper (“Seagirt slips to competition” August 6, 2008) reports that 18 years ago the Seagirt terminal opening was lauded as the beginning of the “renaissance” for the Port of Baltimore.  The terminal, which handles exclusively container cargo, is a potentially lucrative State and business joint venture resulting from receiving, handling and shipping goods from overseas.

Yet today, the terminal operates at less than half of its capacity, largely as a result of the failure in vision of the Democratic leadership in Maryland to update port and rail facilities to enable rail carriers to view the Port of Baltimore as a viable vehicle for transporting container cargo.  The Sun paper reports that

Seagirt is beset by structural problems the port officials are seeking to resolve….

* While double-stacking containers on trains has become the industry standard for efficiency reasons, only single-stacked cars can move out of Seagirt….

* Some 66 precious waterfront acres at Seagirt are occupied by CSX Corp.’s intermodal station, where it mostly transfers trucked-in domestic containers. Only 10 percent of containers handled there come in by ship, though the facility was built to support international trade.

The primary reason for these structural problems?  An infrastructural impediment:  the Howard Street tunnel.  According to the Sun,

[f]or more than a decade, the state and CSX have quibbled about how to divide the costs of gaining clearances for double-stacked trains. Neither side wants to pay the $1 billion it could take to increase clearance in Baltimore’s Howard Street tunnel, the chief impediment.

Now, the administration is considering

[h]iring a private contractor to run Seagirt under a long-term lease [a]s one possible avenue the state could pursue by mid-2009. The operator would assume complete control of Seagirt - the berths, cranes, containers, asphalt, everything but the land itself - and cough up millions for projects that the state feels it can’t afford.

But what about the tunnel?

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