Economy
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Selective “Ranking” Promotion by County Politicians – Why Not Show the Whole Truth of How MoCo and MD “Stack Up”?
Read more: Selective “Ranking” Promotion by County Politicians – Why Not Show the Whole Truth of How MoCo and MD “Stack Up”?“Selective Outrage” was a term made popular by the recent Chris Rock comedy special on Netflix, wherein he details “the Oscar’s slap” and aftermath for himself and Will Smith. His broader point from the comedy special is on-point too, as he showcases time and again the “selective outrage” (hypocrisy and faux-sanctimonious behavior) of select people,…
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The Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation, and Local Rent Control
Read more: The Federal Reserve Bank, Inflation, and Local Rent ControlMoCo reformers (Democrat, Independent, and Republican alike) often bemoan the conflation of national politics with local electoral races. Last year the Republicans fielded their best candidate in a generation for county executive, Reardon Sullivan, and he came up short by quite a margin. Hard line Democrats in this county, and even more so the progressives,…
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Re-Branded as “Action Youth Media”, Gandhi Brigade Youth Media (a MoCo Taxpayer Grantee) Still Appears to be Promoting Only Certain Types of “Activism” Through Art
Read more: Re-Branded as “Action Youth Media”, Gandhi Brigade Youth Media (a MoCo Taxpayer Grantee) Still Appears to be Promoting Only Certain Types of “Activism” Through ArtBack in March we highlighted current Councilmember Evan Glass’s former employer / non-profit, Gandhi Brigade Youth Media or GB Youth Media. The organization gets thousands in public money each year. In fact, it got a pretty sweet deal back in March 2018, as Mr. Glass was navigating his way through primaries and running for County…
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The Property Tax Hike Rebellion
Read more: The Property Tax Hike RebellionLet’s talk about the 10% increase in property tax (aka, “10 cent revenue enhancement”) supposedly to fund MCPS. Montgomery County demographics are largely Democrats, and much of the workforce is in government, contracting, and hospitality industries. Many would ordinarily support paying more for the schools. (Not to diminish the real burden this places on retirees…
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Is WSSC Serving the People of MoCo or Companies & Lobby Shops With Donor Ties to Local Democrat Politicians?
Read more: Is WSSC Serving the People of MoCo or Companies & Lobby Shops With Donor Ties to Local Democrat Politicians?The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) probably deserves its own investigative series. If we had a truly inquisitive local ‘fourth estate’ we might have gotten one a long time ago. But local media in Montgomery County is obsessed with being ‘friends’ to the powerful, instead of auditors or investigators. Our very own “Independent” and tax-supported…
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A MoCo Developer’s Solution for Affordable Housing
Read more: A MoCo Developer’s Solution for Affordable HousingThe following is an interview conducted by Mark Lautman of Chris Bruch, CEO of The Donohoe Companies, about proven solutions for providing affordable housing. We appreciate the contribution and willingness of both individuals to share with CleanSlateMoCo. Hope you enjoy! What does Donohoe Companies do? We build, manage, and develop commercial real estate, including hotels,…
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Why Do WSSC Water Rates Keep Getting Hiked? And Why Does the MoCo Council Not Bat an Eye?
Read more: Why Do WSSC Water Rates Keep Getting Hiked? And Why Does the MoCo Council Not Bat an Eye?“Council Backs WSSC Request for 7% Rate Increase” was the headline at taxpayer sponsored MyMCMedia.org. Instead of an 8% rate hike on water, which WSSC initially asked for, the Montgomery County Council decided to be kind of frugal, in a MoCo sense, and “unanimously voted to support Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Water’s (WSSC) request to…
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The Losers and Winners of Rent Control in MoCo
Read more: The Losers and Winners of Rent Control in MoCoThe social-justice crowd claims that rent control is the only way to protect defenseless tenants against their oversized landlords. (The previous four posts in this series have shown that the only actor with oversized power in the county’s housing market, and the only actor to blame for the shortage of affordable housing is the county…
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Maryland’s Sky-High Regressive Gas Tax Set To Increase Yet Again, July 1, 2023
Read more: Maryland’s Sky-High Regressive Gas Tax Set To Increase Yet Again, July 1, 2023Maryland residents will experience another crushing increase in cost of gasoline at the pump this summer drive season across Maryland. This is all courtesy of a Martin O’Malley-era law passed by Maryland Democrats in Annapolis that insanely ties gasoline tax rate increases to the rate of inflation. Energy costs themselves are a main driver of…
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MoCo’s Housing Programs and Associated Failure
Read more: MoCo’s Housing Programs and Associated FailureThis post, part 4 in a series on our county’s distorted housing market. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here, and Part 3 here. At the time of this writing, the powerful and controlling County Council is considering two rent-control measures that, in the words of the less powerful but equally controlling County Executive Marc…