20070615 some good analysis on the Baltimore Mayoral Contest

If you are looking for some good analysis on the Baltimore Mayoral Contest...

June 15th, 2007

I was watching the news on one of the Baltimore channels this evening, (Channel 11?), and they are now calling crime in Baltimore a “crisis” – and that is exactly the perception.

Increasingly – across the state and across the nation, the perception is growing that crime in Baltimore City is out of control.

Add to this challenge the perception that Baltimore and Maryland are horrifically anti-business and Baltimore City schools are a mess, and you have a recipe for ever-increasing serious problems for attracting jobs and economic development.

Of course let’s stipulate that the loss of life and impediments to succeed are dooming an entire generation of children who are being de facto denied an opportunity to be a part of the American dream and lead productive lives. This tragedy alone should be a call for action.

Of course the individual challenges can be overcome but not everyone can be an Horatio Alger. The statistically probability needs to be changed for the better for young Baltimoreans to have an opportunity to succeed. All of us have benefited from a leg-up at some point in our lives…

Meanwhile, taxes can’t pay for everything and if a business is afraid to locate in Baltimore or Maryland, the employment and tax base future looks bleak.

Now that there is a Democrat in the Statehouse and the Maryland General Assembly is essentially one-party rule – it can no longer be blamed on a Republican governor, not that most folks bought that explanation anyway.

The upcoming elections in Baltimore are critical if the population and tax base flight is to be turned-around. And the state has serious budget problems so that tax-well is looking pretty dry in the foreseeable future.

If you want put the brakes on urban sprawl, the City of Baltimore has to be an attractive place to live, raise a family and hold a job - - and this point the verdict is out as to whether or not things will get better in the foreseeable future.

The health of Baltimore has a direct impact on the rest of us in the state…

One place to begin understanding the byzantine machinations of Baltimore one-party politics is to take a good look at Baltimore Mayoral Race on the Web by: Andrew Kujan.

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