Economy
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Montgomery County Taxes and Affordable Homes
Read more: Montgomery County Taxes and Affordable HomesThis week Marc Elrich headed to Annapolis to testify in support of HB470 before the House Ways and Means Committee. Marc is quick to point out that it is “progressive”, which in Marc’s case means it provides an opening for him to squeeze more money out of the upper and middle class to fund his…
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Wealth Transfer to the Wealthy: How CE Marc Elrich & MoCo’s State House Politicians are Fleecing Poorer Electric Rate Payers
Read more: Wealth Transfer to the Wealthy: How CE Marc Elrich & MoCo’s State House Politicians are Fleecing Poorer Electric Rate PayersMarc Elrich likes to brag about being a firm believer in “equity” and “fairness” Particularly with regard to wages and the County mandated minimum wage, County Exec Elrich is quick to brag about being on the side of “the little guy”. Never mind that the regressive policies he advocates for and pushes into law dramatically…
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The Fallacy of County-Funded Aging-In-Place
Read more: The Fallacy of County-Funded Aging-In-PlaceHuman relationships are fickle. Probably the most fickle are high-school romances (for those of you who were lucky enough to have had one or two or three). Another example is bloggers on local politics such as myself. We can love our elected leaders, and we can just as easily hand them demerits. Such is the…
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MoCo’s “Boost” – No Strings, Taxpayer Funded Universal Basic Income Program
Read more: MoCo’s “Boost” – No Strings, Taxpayer Funded Universal Basic Income ProgramWhen I first saw that email, I’ll be honest, I thought it was a scam. Have you seen the Montgomery County Collaboration Council’s (see screen shot below) newest video promoting the “story” of the Montgomery County UBI program participant? Probably not. As of this writing, it only has 38 views after being posted for a…
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ZTA 24-01: Living Closer to God
Read more: ZTA 24-01: Living Closer to GodThere are reasons I don’t get invited to parties, the most obvious being my enthusiasm over liberalization in zoning laws. A typical conversation when I meet someone new at a wedding goes like this. “What are your hobbies?” “Pushing for removal of height restrictions. Yours?” “I’ll go get myself another brewsky. You stay here.” Just…
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ZTA 23-10 Part 2: Sites for No-Parking Residences
Read more: ZTA 23-10 Part 2: Sites for No-Parking ResidencesIn Part 1 of this series we mentioned that Zoning Text Amendment 23-10 exempts residential construction from any parking requirements within a one-half mile of Metro, Purple Line, and Bus Transit Centers. Where are these sites, and what is within a half-mile radius around them? I drew circles around each of the county’s Metro, Purple…
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ZTA 23-10 Part 1: How Parking Mandates Restrict Affordable Housing
Read more: ZTA 23-10 Part 1: How Parking Mandates Restrict Affordable HousingWhen I came out of the closet, publicly and shamelessly, expressing a desire to eliminate residential zoning, fully one-half of my friends pruned me—so I’m now down to one. Let’s see if that remaining friendship will survive this series on relaxed parking requirements. Local jurisdictions have many ways of constricting the housing supply, thereby making…
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Household and Government Debt Way Up in Maryland… So of Course Montgomery County’s Exec Wants to… Spend More!
Read more: Household and Government Debt Way Up in Maryland… So of Course Montgomery County’s Exec Wants to… Spend More!New research from Forbes Advisor shows that Maryland sits just outside the top-five of states with the most “combined” debt. Forbes in this case defines total debt as “household debt” and “government debt”. Why does this matter? Well, for starters, elevated government debt thanks to Democrat-controlled Annapolis means that: When a state owes more than…
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Why Is Montgomery County Giving Taxpayer Money to a “Micro-Lender” Requiring No Credit Score, No Employment, No Address, No Immigration Status from Its Borrowers
Read more: Why Is Montgomery County Giving Taxpayer Money to a “Micro-Lender” Requiring No Credit Score, No Employment, No Address, No Immigration Status from Its BorrowersIn yet another blow to fiscal stewardship of the taxpayer dollar in Montgomery County, data from the MoCo “Checkbook” in 2023 reveals that Montgomery County’s “Economic Development Fund” gave a nonprofit corporation called Life Asset Inc. a $50,000 check in May, 2023. See our screen shot below: Life Asset Inc. says it is a “nonprofit…
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The Ultimate Gift Guide for That Montgomery County Councilmember in Your Life (Part 2)
Read more: The Ultimate Gift Guide for That Montgomery County Councilmember in Your Life (Part 2)It has been a few weeks since our Part 1 Holiday Gift Guide. For you last minute shoppers, we are finally ready to share Part 2. If you are looking for a special gift for your representative, these will most definitely hit the mark! These sustainably grown oak hangers are guaranteed to not add creases…