Moore Economics Mean Less for Maryland
If Wes Moore wants to create pathways for work, wages, and wealth for everybody, he needs to scrap his economic plan and come up with something that will actually help, not hurt, working families.
Over the weekend Wes Moore continued his 2028 Presidential campaign again made the circuit of Washington TV shows to talk about his economic plans for Maryland/
This certainly won’t be a surprise to anybody who actually looked at Wes Moore’s economic plan prior to the election. But it will probably come as a great shock to many working Marylanders who took refuge in voting for Moore to avoid voting for Dan Cox.
Some of the bullet points involved in Moore’s plan include:
“Develop new benefits for Maryland businesses and better market the state.” A return of the old Martin O’Malley agenda of corporatism.
“Recruit businesses from states enacting far-right social agendas.” Moore puts it like this: “As states around the nation continue to pass anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-voting laws, businesses are evaluating opportunities to relocate their headquarters or employees to other states with more friendly and welcoming climates.” I guess it’s welcoming as long as you are not an unborn child or a person who believes in God or in science, sure.
“Make Maryland the Capital of Quantum”. As in quantum computing, something that has yet to pan out as a viable option.
“Create new resources and access to assistance for micro businesses.” More handouts to businesses to get the government involved in their operations.
“Accelerate the minimum wage increase to $15 per hour.” Moore wants to implement the $15 minimum wage by July, because we just aren’t losing jobs to neighboring states fast enough.
“Ensure passage of a comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave program.” Moore leaves out the fact that such a plan would require tremendous tax hikes.
Since Maryland Democrats are a fully owned subsidiary of Maryland’s Teachers Unions, a lot of Moore’s economic plan is actually even more increases to education programs. Such as:
Deliver preschool for all children in need
Strengthen Maryland’s early childhood education and child care programs
Increase funding for financial aid.
Create new pathways to higher education by making Maryland’s Community College Promise Program more accessible
Implement a Service Year Option program
Moore’s Service Year Option program is the one that would be the biggest change to Maryland’s education infrastructure, as the plan would see “Maryland high school graduates to serve for a year in a public service role in exchange for job training, mentorship, and other support, including compensatory tuition at a Maryland college or university.”
In a September Washington Post article, Moore made the laughable claim that taxes would not need to be increased for the service program:
Moore, who has not offered a cost estimate and has said he does not plan to raise taxes to fund it, said his program probably would run through a partnership of federal, state, and local governments, along with nonprofit and for-profit companies. An industry expert estimated that a service year option could cost as much as $30,000 per year for each participant, depending on how it is structured.
Moore sees it as an investment in the state’s economic and educational future.
“If you look at things like gap years, … the challenge of them is that not every kid can do it,” Moore said. “I’m a big believer in experiential learning. I feel like there’s a lot of students who are just finishing up and they’re not clear what they want to do. And so if you give them an opportunity to learn and grow … that’s going to help them through this transition to adulthood.”
The establishment of such a program would of course create a bureaucratic nightmare and would create even more bloat in Maryland State Government through the creation of unnecessary make-work projects to keep the Service students gainfully employed.
Moore claims that he is “going to create pathways for work, wages, and wealth for every Marylander.” But Moore’s economic agenda is merely the same warmed-over programs that Maryland Democrats have proposed before. They have never created pathways to work, higher wages, or wealth for every Marylander and have usually created in less economic opportunity, lower wages, and reduced wealth for working families.
If Wes Moore really wants to create pathways for work, wages, and wealth for everybody, he needs to scrap his economic plan and come up with something that will actually help, not hurt, Maryland’s working families.