Upon gaining independence, the United States of America instituted a new government. Their ideals were laid out in the Articles of Confederation. This proclamation insisted heavily upon state’s rights. The Articles failed and the country adopted a new Constitution, which organized the states under a stronger centralized government. With the implementation of the Constitution, the strength of the individual states weakened. However, state’s rights remained intact, protected by Article IV of the Constitution, the 14th Amendment, and Article X of the Bill of Rights. Within these provisions, the federal government declared itself a “constitution-based republic [with a] strong democratic tradition” and stated that each state must adopt a republic as government as well. John Adams outlines in the Republic the need for republics, explaining that it was next to impossible to arrange a single, all-encompassing assembly. Therefore, the peoples’ needs are better addressed. Currently, states have dictation over legislature concerning many issues including public health, taxes, and anything not delegated for the Federal government. Maryland is one of these states.
Maryland as an institution justifies its existence by asserting its role as a tool for “social happiness”. Its constitution creates a system that best serves the majority of people or common good. Throughout history, Maryland’s role and purpose as an institution has grown to pay attention to more current issues. The basic system and ideals have remained but the purposes and goals have changed. Recent polls suggest that Marylanders are satisfied with the state. We will attempt to take a look at modern Maryland politics and the peoples’ role in their government.
Democracies are based on the concept of “majority rules”. Each law is supposed to be in the majority’s favor. Maryland has a pretty good record of representing its citizens, suggesting that Maryland government is very efficient. However, sometimes, it is hard to determine the majority, especially in instances of a slight margin. For instance when polled about the proposed tax increases, Marylanders are split over the proposal. Although, 63% of Marylanders oppose the increase in sales tax, 59% support an increase in corporate taxes.* It appears as if voters are not concerned with the actual tax but rather who is taxed.
In the Free State, a two-party system dominates. Of the 63% Marylanders that vote, most identify themselves as either Democrat or Republican.** The Democratic Party votes liberally on social issues and have a stance on business that is very similar to socialism. In contrast, Republicans are typically socially conservative and economically liberal. Both parties insist that they have the peoples’ best interest at heart.
Contemporary Maryland politics is dominated by a wide array of contentious subjects. For instance, current “hot” topics include allowing same-sex marriage, abortion, domestic spending, sex-ed and U.S. involvement in the war. Other issues such as instituting slots and gun-control are heavily debated. These issues are controversial because they involve personal philosophy. Typically, Maryland is a liberal state and votes on the issues accordingly. Within the past few years, Maryland has experienced liberal reform in many arenas; including abolishment of abstinence-only sex-ed, full abortion rights, stricter gun control laws, and legalization of medical marijuana.
Maryland Slots
In addition to the other major political issues in Maryland, the Maryland slots have become a “defining issue for legislators.”[1] The issue is due to the struggle to legalize gambling in order to have revenue coming into the state as another way to support needed funds. Supporters of Maryland slots have been accused of supporting a morally questionable act. Contrary, those who oppose the use of gambling claim that Maryland should not have to rely on an unstable way of more money.
Advocates for the slots believe that the money made from them will help go towards important causes such as education, educational facilities, improvement of farms and protection of open horse related space. In addition to supporting funds in the above issues, advocates believe that Maryland slots will also help in the overall contribution and advancement in regards to economic standards. Most of Maryland’s competition comes from the states of West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania. It is within these states that Maryland loses about 150 million dollars to their slots. Supporters of the Maryland slots see the absence of having them as back pedaling. If there are funds needed to be focused on the school systems, construction or what have it, then the Maryland residents are only hurting themselves by giving their money away to other states. In addition support for the slot machines would also be a way to help support over thousands of jobs that have come out of the horse racing industry. Without more funding it is possible for these workers to lose their job and ultimately lead Maryland into having a higher percentage of residents at the level of poverty. Unfortunately, the list of negatives continues to grow and become more apparent within the absence of slots. In a recent press conference on September 25th, Governor O’Malley, a strong supporter of Maryland slots quoted, “The economic impact of slots on the horse racing industries in surrounding states is undeniable. Slots have generated thousands of jobs in these areas and are subsidizing other priorities, such as education and transportation.”[2] Older residents of Maryland have looked even further past the economic issue related to slots but are also concerned with losing the culture and tradition of their states. Maryland has always been known to be packed full of farmland and the stands at Maryland’s most popular horse race, the Preakness, at Baltimore’s Pimlico Race course has never been known to be close to empty. Without more funding that would come from the slots, residents are worried about losing not only a horse race but an entire tradition and vital piece to their culture. Executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Cricket Goodall also agrees with supporting slots in order to increase incentive not only in the racing world but also on a larger scale that affects the economy of Maryland.
On the opposite end of the spectrum there are small groups working to gain support to dismiss the idea of Maryland slots. One of the groups that is very well known for its work in fighting against the campaign for slots is NOcasiNO-Maryland. Barbara Knickelbein who is very involved with the group claims that “slots and gambling are a menace to society.”[3] However, Knickelbein has a huge interest in horses, loves them and all that they entail. Knickelbein is a particularly interesting member of NOcasiNO-Maryland to look at because of her love for the issues that any potential money would go to. Nevertheless, those who oppose the slots believe that the Maryland lottery is enough of a gambling addiction and that the lottery fulfills enough of the gambling need. Gamblers willingly choose to risk losing their money and some people feel no sympathy for those who do so.
Nevertheless, the advocates of Maryland slots have gained enough momentum in order to get Governor O’Malley on their side. There is a continual controversy over the issue and government officials are still trying to reach a compromise between both parties. Governor O’Malley has been working on revising his plan to recapture slots revenue for Maryland priorities. The most up to date revision includes the following points. First he plans to achieve a consensus among Marylanders. Furthermore he plans to protect 600,000 acres for horse related open space which includes an additional 18,000 acres for the racing industry jobs. He then plans to set aside 425 million dollars for education with an additional 125 million dollars for the construction of educational facilities. O’Malley hopes to settle this long on-going dispute so that the majority of people are happy along with helping the economic situation of Maryland politics as a whole.
Chesapeake Bay
It is extremely difficult for one to have grown around the region of Maryland and not hold a special place in your heart for the Chesapeake Bay. There are numerous public parks and recreational areas built around this body of water. It surrounds residential abodes and commercial gold mines which are coveted throughout the nations. However, this highly progressing surrounding development has dangerously threatened the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Toxic contaminants are flowing into the bay constantly, global warming has taken a severe toll, and erosion and bacteria issues are worsening daily. The safety of human lives as well as the well-being of the watershed’s wildlife has become extremely at risk through the over development of the bay’s encompassing lands.
Septic tanks from both residential and commercial areas have progressively poured over twelve million pounds of nitrogen into the bay. The contaminants in the bay have caused a fish and plant destructing mycobacterium. The erosion of the land is causing extremely harsh habitats for the wildlife. The contaminants in the water are harming the animals through the lands. The scorching Maryland summer heat poses horrible swimming environment for tourists and locals alike within the overly warm bacteria-breeding waters, with severe illness cases on record. Hunters, fishers, campers, and naturalists all can find strong reasoning for coming together and supporting the necessary urgent reaction to preserve and restore the Chesapeake.
Glimmers of hope seem to fight through the murky waters. Senator Cardin, for instance, recently issued a Senate Appropriations Bill of International and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. If this bill passes, money will be donated to many bay-friendly organizations such as The Chesapeake Bay Forestry Program, or the Chesapeake Bay Gateway and Water Trail Program.[4] The Chesapeake Bay Program, who’s goal is to protect, restore, and maintain the bay, would be receiving a four million dollar grant. There are numerous oyster restoration organizations, such as the Chesapeake Bay Oyster Restoration Program, which would receive up to two million dollars with the passing of Cardin’s bill.[5] Governor O’Malley supports Program Open Space, which has been designed in attempt to force all state construction to be approved by the Program first, and to ensure avoidance of unnecessary over-development.
It is a basically universal agreement of Maryland citizens that more funding is available for this issue. So many organizations are fighting with the issue, and both republican and democratic politicians alike hold promises to the citizens to help. Urgent action is necessary, and the state needs to place this issue of extremely high importance.
Maryland Healthcare
With 81% of Americans believing that government should play a role in healthcare, it is not surprising that healthcare has become an issue in Maryland.* Currently, 800,000 Marylanders are without health insurance.† Martin O’Malley[6], the governor, recently proposed a bill that would create care for 100,000 citizens. Within the proposal, lies provisions to help small business better afford healthcare for employing. O’Malley looks to small businesses pooling together and negotiating for better rates in healthcare. In addition, the proposal would provide healthcare insurance to low income families and adults by expanding Medicaid. Overall, the program would encourage wellness and disease prevention throughout the state, by lowering out-of pocket costs for the individual. O’Malley asserts that the program would not be limited to the cities, and that rural and minorities would see more state resources. Finally, the healthcare bill would create incentive for nurses to move to Maryland and help address the nursing shortage. Funding for this healthcare reform would come from his proposed budget reform.
High School Drop Out Rates
“Dropout Factory” is the not so appraising nickname given by Bob Balfanz (a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University) to thirteen high schools in Maryland, and one out of every ten schools across America. Balfanz defines a Dropout Factory as “a high school where no more than sixty percent of the freshmen that enter the school will make it through their senior year,” (Kay). Although the absence of the remaining forty percent of those high school students may be due to transfers, the majority are dropouts. The national average of schools receiving the dropout label is twelve percent, however, Maryland’s schools superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick found “limited” comfort in the fact that Maryland’s average was less than that at 7.4 percent.[7] These dropout factories are most commonly found in large cities and high-poverty rural areas. The proportions of minority students are extremely high within these schools. Unfortunately, it’s harder to get these schools back on track due to the other responsibilities students attending those schools carry. One of those responsibilities is work: the necessity to help earn a living. When kids attending the dropout factories have to work in order to get by, school is much less of a priority. Many students are also faced with a need for social services. There are measures being taken to increase the quality of education. The No Child Left Behind policy gives school districts more money. The state assessments require every child in grades three through eight and at least once in high school to take tests created by the state. The results of these tests will be used to determine which schools are really struggling, and which ones need little improvement. The state school board had a debate on October 30th, 2007 on whether or not to make the tests a graduation requirement. Grasmick is a strong advocator of making the tests a graduation requirement as long as the kids who fail have the opportunity to retake the test as many times as necessary, or if after several attempts they have the option of doing a senior project instead. The board voted on October 31st, 2007, in favor of allowing students who fail to complete a project instead. This will go into effect beginning in 2009. Not everyone is in full support of the test requirement. Some board members feel that some students “particularly those who might not have gotten an adequate education, should not be held accountable with a series of high stakes tests that would decide their futures” (Bowie). This is a very valid point because not all students are skilled test takers and tests in every subject may not be the best way to gage their level of comprehension. Lillian Epps, the mother of a Randallstown student declared that some children receive a substandard education, particularly African-American children.[8] I have heard so many students say they will drop out if they have to keep taking the test again and again. It is humiliating,” (Bowie). Hopefully with the new change the board of education has implemented, students will be more likely to succeed even if they do not pass the required tests.
M.V.A. Issues
Maryland’s M.V.A. has been faced with some serious allegations in recent news. The M.V.A. has been charged with illegally waiving punitive fines, incorrect and illegal paper work routines, as well as indirectly ignoring the severe issue of drunk driving.
In light of the uncovering of these illegal and immoral actions, the M.V.A. has been audited as of August, 2007. Startling issues have arisen. There have been over thirty five cases of which licensed drivers have illegally completed required paper work. There have even been ten cases of drivers whose social security number is recorded, when in actuality the social security numbers are that of deceased citizens. The head and speaking manager of the M.V.A. is said to intricately check only less than five per cent of the administration’s paper work per week. With the high amount of new drivers daily, and the increasing amount of everyday driving offenses, five per cent a week seems hardly sufficient.
Over eight hundred thousand dollars of fines have been found as illegally waived by the administration. There have been at least one hundred and seventy eight issues concerning unpaid fines in association with child support and safety issues. It has been uncovered that limitations of drunk drivers have been randomly and illegally pulled and disregarded.[9] This has completely opposed efforts to decrease Maryland’s drunken driving rates, as the Ignition Interlock Program attempts to do.
Bruce Meyers, head of Office of Legislature working with the Ignition Interlock Program, displays the complete contradiction in the attempt to keep citizens safe versus the recent acts of the M.V.A. His program is used to ensure that those drivers with drunk driving offenses, are not to be able to drive, particularly those with repeated recorded offenses. He has expressed deep concern, as well as other programs have such as M.A.D.D. (Mother’s against drunk driving,) concerning the lack of punishment and restrictions given to the drunk drivers of Maryland, some of which are still roaming the streets[10].
Is it necessary to give more funding to this cause? Would greater funding and resources enable the government to audit and reform the M.V.A. in an efficient manner? Up for debate, the safety of Maryland roadways and driving citizens is a grave concern of Marylanders, one which affects nearly every family in the state. Numerous driving safety organizations and programs are all getting involved with this state issue, supporting complete review and reform of the important administration which is proving to be highly unsatisfactory and dangerous.
Taxes
2006 was a year of change for Maryland. The Gubernatorial Election brought in a new governor, Martin O’Malley –a young democrat, who previously was Mayor of Baltimore City- Maryland’s largest city. Shortly, after taking office, O’Malley began to present proposals to the General Assembly. Among those in discussion, O’Malley laid out a plan to address the state’s 1.7 billion dollar deficit. The proposal included a budget reform through, among other things, a redistribution of taxation. O’Malley proposes a 1% increase in the sales tax, bringing the percentage to 6 cents to the dollar. He would also like the sales tax to broaden in order to cover more services. Additionally, the governor would like to raise the corporate tax a percentage as well. These increases would bring in an estimated 6.5 billion dollars in the next five years. This estimate does not include changes to other taxes. If passes, his bill would raise the sales tax, the corporate income tax, the tobacco tax, the titling tax on vehicles and income taxes on upper-end earners. There would be small income tax cuts for the most Marylanders. As well as increasing taxes, O’Malley wishes to cut back on spending. Although, Maryland has many schools with horrendous graduation rates, the governor would like to cut funding for public schools. This cut will help support transportation by freeing up money. Finally, O’Malley called for a referendum on slots; calling the people to take part in direct democracy.
Expectedly, there is great opposition to this bill. Opponents, evoking their right to assembly, protested outside of the capitol. Howard County Republican and protestor, Del. Warren E. Miller finds O’Malley’s proposal radical, and draws comparison from the nation’s past. He states “our founding-fathers knew over-taxing our citizens would lead to rebellion”. Miller also cites taxation without representation; he further asserts that although O’Malley won, 43% of voters did not elect him and are therefore not represented. Other opponents emphasize the plan’s negative effects on public schools. This plan would set back students and only hurt the state. Protestors also defend the average Marylander, saying they can’t afford the new taxes. However, O’Malley claims the new reform on taxes actually is fairer to working families. Although the protestors were quick to criticize, they had no plan to offer themselves. Republicans stated that they, too, thought there were other ways to cut the deficit. The Republicans declared that they will reveal an alternative solution sometime in the near future.
Interviews
In attempt to truly study and understand Contemporary Maryland Politics, it is necessary to look at all points of view. It is incomplete to only study people of a certain class, race, marital status, home location, etc. In attempt to gain a full and thorough view of what is happening in current Maryland Policies, we have interviewed numerous people of different living situations and lifestyle choices, all of which prove to cause individual and differentiating responses and reactions to the state’s policies.
We will first look at Mr. Jeff Meinsohn. Living right outside the metropolitan D.C. area, Mr. Jeff Meinsohn attributes a unique view of Maryland Contemporary Political issues. Jeff is a republican, single parent with three children, all of which still live at home. His oldest child, Sarah is being held at the current date within a state correctional facility for at least the next six months. Jeff’s youngest son, Eric is a high school junior attending public school. His middle son, Christopher, did not complete his high school diploma at the common age as he left his schooling for a career in manual labor. Having such diversities within their home, we are able to see how government controls, affects, and limits Jeff’s and his family’s lifestyle.
Jeff is extremely confident in the state’s public school system. His youngest son suffers from a mild case of cerebral palsy, and Mr. Meinsohn feels that the school has accommodated his son’s handicaps in extremely successful ways. He feels that the resources available for these special students, from physical accessibility items such as ramps and elevators, to the special education department in schools, providing excellent assistance to the youth with mental challenges.
On a daily basis, Jeff drives by government buildings right down the street from his house. It is an extremely frustrating topic of his to see how many people are working for the government facilities, and how much land, and resources it takes to make them. He feels that while there are too many people working for these organizations, the area’s need of policemen, fire fighters, and more occupations concerning the well-being of citizens is being ignored. There are too many people working to organize these issues, in Jeff’s view, and not enough people making it actually happen.
Jeff also has issues with illegal immigrant issues. His area contains an extremely great amount of families from foreign lands, and though he has no discrimination against their nationalities, he feels they threaten his own. He feels that the government’s job is to create unity among all citizens, and that there is not enough laws uniting language barriers. Being in the United States, we need a unifying language, Jeff discusses, and these issues cause great stresses to Jeff’s everyday life. Personal issues concerning this matter are displayed in his family’s grocery store visits, doctor’s office visits, even calling telephone information from their family phone. This proves to be a great difficulty with the family’s needs. Jeff also feels that there is too much concern over protecting these immigrants, directly causing less concern of the well-being of the state’s current domestically born citizens.
A huge issue of current times, health care is Jeff’s main concern in state government today. He feels he falls more democratic in this topic, but is passionate about the government’s need to provide universal and adequate healthcare. Having one child overcome cancer within the last year, and one child who has been hit by a drunk driver as well as conquering a life-long battle with cerebral palsy, Jeff has been a first hand witness of the effects of non-sufficient health care. His daughter is currently facing issues with the healthcare provided within her prison. She has been faced with a severe health issue, and Jeff feels she needs immediate medical attention. However, the prison laws prohibit this need of urgency, and are trying to force her to wait almost three months to see a doctor. Jeff Meinsohn would first and foremost change how the state is running healthcare, and heatedly implores this political renovation to occur.
Also from the D.C. metropolitan area, our next interviewee was Ms. Jo Tingle. Jo Anne Tingle is a single white mother of two, born and raised in Salisbury Maryland. She met her husband in 1969, just two years after it became legal in the state of Maryland for blacks and whites to be in an interracial relationship. When their oldest daughter was seven, their youngest was two, and just two years after they bought their first house, Jo’s husband died. I was curious to find out in what ways the government has affected her life. When asked her what factors of her life the government affects, the first thing she said was how the government spends the nation’s money. Jo feels that we spend entirely too much money on war. It is understandable that a woman living in the governmental hot-house of the nation would find this issue of high importance. What the government spends money on affects many different aspects of our life because the more money we spend on certain things that the government may feel are more important, creates a greater chance of us neglecting other issues that may be more important to the people. She thinks that we should be spending money on trying to fix our planet and finding and creating alternative energy sources because global warming is a steadily paced growing threat. It is also an issue that affects everyone in the world, and that fact should be enough to make it a priority. In what ways (if any) has the government helped your situation? As a recently widowed parent with two young children, the government allowed Jo to collect death benefits as a result of her husband’s death. The government wrote her checks that she could spend on anything her daughters needed: food, clothes, childcare, etc. The money she received from death benefits greatly improved her children’s’ quality of life as well as her own. Supporting children is extremely costly, especially for single parents. Jo happened to be a single parent who was also going through massage school for two years of that time. Jo also received money from social security as a result of her husband’s death. However, this money wasn’t always helpful. Social security gave Jo money every year but if she earned too much money making a living she would have to pay them back at the end of the year. This was extremely stressful because she didn’t know until the end of the year if she owed them money or not, and was in constant fear of making too much money. The first time that she had to pay money back to social security was also the last. She signed a document neglecting continued payment. Although, when her daughters got older and it was time for them to go to college, the government came to her aid by offering in-state tuition for college. This helps immensely because her youngest daughter attends a school in Maryland and she is able to because of that enormous relief given by the in-state tuition policy. How do government policies influence your life? “In every way imaginable” was what Jo said. It was a little surprising that the only things she mentioned in response to this question were all negative. “The government has completely eroded my faith in this country.” She feels very strongly that the government needs to make more of an effort to really educate our children well. In the state of Maryland there are thirteen schools that fall under the “dropout factory” label, meaning that only sixty percent of the freshmen that enter those schools graduate on time with their diplomas. “What if we really put our children first? No child left behind is a very sad and pathetic way of trying to solve the gargantuan problem of kids dropping out of school and not receiving an adequate education.” Educating young people is something that many people feel strongly about. Today’s children are tomorrow’s politicians, doctors, business owners, etc. If you could change one thing about the government to benefit your life, what would it be? “That we not be imperialist pigs”, was the first thing out of her mouth after a thoughtful moment of silence. When asked to elaborate, she then went on to say that the government needs to be more responsive to the needs of the people. This question leads her back to the education problem in the state of Maryland. “If we weren’t war-mongerers, and if we spent as much money on education as we did on the war in Iraq imagine what we could accomplish.” When I asked how this affects her directly she explained how the way we raise and educate our young people affects her directly because they will be the ones in power when she’s elderly. It may not matter now, at this very moment, or even over the next few years but it will when she’s older and the people who we couldn’t afford to educate are the ones in power. “I wish that our motives could be less driven by greed.” On a more current note Jo is disappointed by the fact that the government has not stood up to the NRA (National Rifle Association). She lives in what she calls “not the best neighborhood” and the manufacturing of guns makes it more easily accessible for anyone to own a gun. Gun violence is a huge problem in our cities and that affects her directly. The fact that the government has not stood up to the NRA is one of the factors that makes her feel like she has no one to protect her, and that she’s basically on her own. After conducting this mini interview we were shocked and saddened to hear the hopelessness in Jo’s voice. The questions we came up with were all very open ended, and we tried to stray from having a positive or a negative spin on any of our questions. However, the only things that came to mind when faced with these questions were, for the most part, negative. Overall, the ways that the government have influenced and are continuing to influence her life are unfortunate. When one thinks of the Maryland government, the D.C. government and the United States as a whole, we should be overwhelmed with thoughts of pride and comfort, yet, that is not the case for Jo Tingle.
Though it is not the nation’s capital, the lovely city of Annapolis has introduced different perspectives from another one of the areas crucial cities. Annapolis is a crucial location of numerous state government buildings and administrations. It holds the State House, the House of Delegates, as well as the Senate. Furthermore, it is the home of our state’s governor, Mr. Martin O’Malley.
Maybe not as quite politically influential, Mr. Keith Corner also resides in the lovely town of Annapolis. Being an unemployed citizen beneath Maryland’s state government powers forces one to view almost all political policies in an entirely biased and individual way. Being unemployed, having three daughters, having a foreign nationality, and living in one of the most expensive counties in the state, may prove to make your perspective on government policies even more swayed. Meet Keith Corner. Keith has three daughters, two of which are married and out of the house, and one which he is currently putting through college, (a college with amazing Intro. to Politics professors, he'd like to add.) Mr. Corner recently lost his job of over twenty years. He resides in Annapolis, Maryland with his wife, Jane. Both are from England originally and have recently obtained their United States Citizenship. Keith does not regard himself as being either democrat or republican, but he thinks that he tends to sway between the two depending on individual issues and their influencing situations.
Keith feels that the state government currently attributes numerous positive influences in his life. He is attempting to start a new, self-owned, small business. The state government has proved to be very supportive of him in this quest. He is provided with classes and exams to better his position in his career, he is supported by numerous laws against issues concerning monopolies and fraud. His company is even able to receive grants for needed resources of theirs. His daughters have all attended Maryland Public Schools, and his youngest daughter attends a great in-state college. He is extremely satisfied with the education system he has been exposed to while living in Maryland. Keith also discussed how common occurrences, such as trash collection and facility (water, electricity) availability. Although, he does admit discontent when discussing the sky-rocketing taxes of these average facilities.
The middle class citizens of Maryland are not fairly taxed in Corner's point of view. The rich are taxed proportionately less, and the lower-class also are granted with considerably less taxes. Having felt he worked hard for his current fiscal position, Keith deems it highly unfair to not tax citizens proportionately equally. Furthermore, Keith discusses how he does not only have to pay taxes to the state government, but also to the county government. If any transaction of money goes on between these two bureaucracies, Keith is taxed for that as well. He partially feels that because he is not considered a "minority" that he is not given the same support. A unique topic that Keith brought up was his belief that there are way too many laws in the state system. He believes that more time is spent revising and creating laws, that there isn't possibly enough time to properly enforce the laws that already exist.
If Keith could change one aspect of the state policies today, it would concern the elections. He expresses how at a state level, bills and laws should be carried out at a more personal and individual level. Maryland Legislature should focus on bills pertaining to their given situation. When bills are tainted with party labels, it takes away from the true depiction of the bill, often causing the bill's original purpose to be altered or applied in the wrong sense. If Keith ran the government, especially on a state level, he seems to want to abolish the idea of left vs. right, democrat republican. States need to work as one, and state politicians should be concerned why the bill is needed or not, how it can be applied and why, and not as concerned as to whether their party's bill is being passed, or which party seems to be "winning." He is so passionate about this matter that he cannot even truly identify himself with one party or the other.
Many different factors affect one’s decision to classify themselves as Republican or Democratic. Coming from another country, never mind from one with current war issues, has obviously swayed our next citizen’s personal party choice. In this case, we have Ms. Lisa Harmon, an American citizen that was born in Cairo, Egypt. Though she is not an official state citizen, she does reside here in St. Mary’s City with her family very far away. Not only is it important to compare the treatment of an out of state resident, but also an out of country resident.
As a citizen of Cairo, Egypt, Lisa Harmon was able to give an interesting perspective on how she feels the Maryland government affects her lifestyle both positively and negatively. Upon choosing to come to Maryland Lisa was drawn to the democratic atmosphere. In addition, knowing that Maryland was a founding place for religious and political freedoms, she feels the same has held true over time. Living in Cairo she was not able to express any differences she may have felt. Being able to express her opinions freely about Maryland politics is definitely a positive aspect to her lifestyle. Furthermore, Lisa feels that gender as a factor of Maryland politics also has a positive light. Maryland politics enables her to be legally treated as an equal to men. Although she mentioned that at restaurants in the Middle East Arab women are served first, it is one of the only things in which they get this treatment. Arab men are of much higher status while women are usually seen as a weaker species. Lisa finds it rewarding to be able to come to Maryland and not have to feel she does not have the same greatness and potential as a male counterpart.
Even though Lisa finds there are positive aspects of Maryland politics she also feels that there is an issue that is both negative and positive. By having D.C so close to Maryland, Lisa feels the location causes some controversy. Being the neighbor to the nation’s capitol there is a possibility of a positive political influence. Unfortunately for Lisa this is where the positive aspect of the location of Maryland stops. Due to the simple fact of being from Arab decent Lisa worries a little extra about being so close to D.C and being seen as a possible threat. She feels that she is mistreated throughout the United States in regards to racism but feels that the physical closeness of being near the nation’s capitol puts her under larger radar while in Maryland.
Lisa’s race contributes to the majority of the negative effects she feels Maryland politics has on her lifestyle. Politically Lisa’s race is a very sensitive topic. While she is a strong advocate for jokes and laughter, they are not always funny. “People don’t understand that jokes can only go so far. When I fly into BWI my friends will joke about being an Arab on a plane or being stopped and pulled to the side while going through security. What they don’t realize is that this really does happen…more than you would think.” Lisa later remarked how her Mom is consistently pulled aside because of her darker skin. In the state of Maryland where she thought people were more open minded Lisa feels people attack not only her but also her family and friends from back home. Lisa who has obtained a U.S citizenship feels that her rights are limited while residing in Maryland. “I don’t know what it is about Maryland but for some reason I always feel more victimized here.” Although she thinks that Maryland politics are generally good she feels that her most limiting factor is due to her race.
In addition to being limited by race Lisa also commented on the issue of age. Now nineteen years old, Lisa expressed her frustration. “Back home, I can drink wherever I want, whenever I want. Here I can’t do either…legally.” Later she commented on how it is weird for her to come to Maryland from Cairo and be considered an automatic “young hooligan.” In Cairo, Lisa is viewed as a responsible, respectful adult. It only takes her a plane ride to Maryland to know she is viewed as a young, reckless and rebellious teenager. Maryland politics limits the amount of respect she is given and is a huge disadvantage not only on an economic level but also when having to deal with the legal system.
While leading to the conclusion of the interview, Lisa had an immediate response in regards to what she would change about Maryland politics. She simply stated, “To have it become more democratic.” Although she appreciates and realizes Maryland is a democratic state, she wishes that Marylander’s were even more democratic and liberal. She feels that she would not only be treated with more respect but that a more democratic pull could potentially help her family, friends and loved ones, living in the Middle East, in regards to the war. “I’m not sure if a democratic President will be the answer but you have to start small.” At a state level Lisa feels a more democratic foundation in Maryland could be more beneficial than people realize.
Being so young, it is amazing how serious and in-depth Ms. Harmon discusses such huge worldly issues. It is important to realize that our state’s youth is just as equally considered a citizen; many youth today feel that they are mistreated because of their age. From suburban Eldersburge, Maryland, comes Ms. Amanda Wilmore. Wilmore is a current high school student, and offers an interesting perspective from that of a young female student.
In a positive aspect, Amanda finds the court systems are fair, in that they are flexible. For example, she recently, received a speeding ticket ( a typical issue for teens of today) and was consequently, scheduled with her dreaded court date. However she was not available on that date, and it was relatively easy to reschedule my date.
Amanda thinks that Maryland has an ill-fitting response to petty crime. For instance, it is a crime to possess marijuana or drug paraphernalia. Typically, one can only have 3 violations and then they receive harsh punishment. She thinks this is fundamentally wrong, in that it violates the Constitution. Amanda says need to adjust our focus. She also asserts that it is a waste of time to jail someone for using marijuana or alcohol. Also, Amanda touched upon the fact that racism plays a huge role in the prosecution of Maryland citizens. She recommended we need to remove our actions from such ignorant beliefs.
As a resident of Maryland, she is to comply with the laws established for drivers and more specifically, minors. Recently, new laws have been instated that she feels are arbitrary and too strict. Amanda can not drive past mid-night or drive my friends until she has had her license for 5 months. She thinks these laws are counterproductive if they wish to encourage safe-driving. If her mother has been at the bar all night and can’t drive, why can she not allowed to give her a sober ride home? Amanda says otherwise, she would drive herself and endanger others. Amanda thinks should be allowed to step in and offer a better alternative. We need leniency.
As an affluent white, Amanda believes that she benefited from the government. As she stated earlier, racism plays a huge role in crime enforcement. So she feels, she gets more leeway than her poor Hispanic counterpart. Also, as a youth she is able to essentially get away with more. Say she were to be arrested for murder, if Amanda was tried and found guilty, at the age of 18, her slate would be wiped clean. So she finds that is a problem, in that crime is crime no matter what age. Additionally, at this age, she is not represented in that she can not vote. She knows the views and concerns of a minor are very different than those a 50 year old. She finds there needs to be some sort of reform for this.
Generally, she would first and foremost want to change the attitude of Maryland government. She says we need to step back and look at the real issues. She says she goes to the city (Baltimore) and sees rampant crime and homelessness. Amanda sees that instead of focusing on rebellious teens and punishing them, the government needs to put energy towards lowering the crime rate and improving inner city education. In her opinion, Baltimore is in a downward spiral and she feels no one is trying to help.
In addition, the attitude towards youth by the law (those who make and enforce) needs to be adjusted, Amanda believes. She feels there is general nastiness and disrespect towards young people. She cites that the youth is the future and we need to nurture their ideals and educate them, so that they may improve the world. Amanda wants lawmakers need to really consider what’s in the best interest of the young. Move away from safety issues and towards education and care, she urges.
She is opposed to this tax increase. She already feels she is taxed without representation, since she is unable to vote. Additionally she finds that it is unnecessary; she sees slots as a better alternative. Also, if the government has a deficit, then taxation isn’t the answer, this will just strain the economy and potentially put people out of work, she says. Amanda thinks that if unemployment goes up, so does the need for welfare and other social helping program. In essence, she thinks we would actually be spending more in effort to sustain our residents.
She feels the public does not care enough about our environment and sadly there is little the government can do to change this. There needs to be more attention to the issue in the news otherwise, the Bay is headed for immediate demise, Amanda says.
Though not considered that “young” anymore, we have interviewed people providing a unique perspective from those who have grew up in Maryland and have recently moved to extremely different political surroundings. Katherine Devereaux, for example, lived in Arnold, Maryland, her entire life until she moved very far south from her mostly Democratic homeland.
Katherine Devereaux lived in Arnold for the better part of her life. She is highly liberal, recently married, employed, and currently has no children. However, she is not even legally an American citizen. She recently has moved to Tampa, Florida, a predominantly Republican and extremely tourist filled location. Katherine seems to miss her hometown of Annapolis, Maryland more than she had expected to when discussing government issues.
Maryland state government enabled Katherine to volunteer for numerous historic organizations. Historic Annapolis is given great funding for their historical projects that occur regularly. Katherine feels the school system in Maryland provides students with amazing opportunities, such as a student internship with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, enabling a young woman to view the life of a successful female politician. Katherine also feels that the high school diploma she received from a highly ranked Maryland high school greatly assisted in her acceptance to universities all over the country.
Moving to Florida has proved to be difficult. Katherine had been so confident in her Maryland policies that she never felt an urgency of obtaining her citizenship to vote. Florida has displayed numerous political issues for democratic Ms. Devereaux. There are abortion issues. There is a huge decline in environmental funding; the state of Florida has just pulled funding on saving the manatees! The area she lives in puts more money towards tourist attractions and creating a larger carbon footprint daily, than they put towards helping important environmental causes that have been existing and worsening as each minute goes by. Based on the many Floridian policies that Ms. Devereaux opposes, it is not surprising to learn that Katherine has recently submitted an application for American citizenship, as well as saving the almost $1,000 it costs to receive a pretty navy blue and gold passport.
Katherine does feel though, that the Maryland government funding needs to also allocate more money towards environmental issues. Revealing her Maryland roots, Katherine illustrated extreme concern for the body of water we all know and love, the Chesapeake Bay. She feels that the bay is a huge environmental resource and a large part of what makes Maryland the state that it is, and that it is crucial to place large emphasis on preserving and restoring the health of the bay and its related wildlife.
As a democrat from Maryland moving to a predominantly Republican area displays one perspective on Maryland government, being a mostly democratic female from Maryland and moving to one of the most liberal cities in the country displays a surprisingly individual perspective. Caroline Miller left her home in Annapolis, Maryland for the bright lights of San Francisco, California. Caroline is married with one son, Callum. She and her husband have both obtained amazingly successful careers, and live comfortably in their upper-middle class status.
Caroline lived in Maryland through most of her existence, and grew up being proud to be from Maryland. She always was impressed to see how consistent female politicians were at obtaining positions in the Maryland state government. She also is pleased to learn that public schools now enforce education of the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and some counties are now enforcing high school students to have service hours in learning about and physically helping the current state of the bay. When Caroline attended high school (15 years ago) she can barely remember discussing the health of the Chesapeake Bay, never mind learning how to help it. Caroline believes that the distribution and usage of recycling bins in Maryland is useful, but it is not as extreme as she would like it to be.
The small state of Maryland is being consistently over-developed; take for example the Bowie Shopping Center, or the Annapolis mall. It would be far more beneficial to Maryland's environmental state to take action such as building these commercial buildings higher rather than so sprawled out. Mrs. Miller also remembers constant discussion, but little action concerning bills and laws pertaining to the ongoing topic of slots. Caroline feels far too much effort is being placed for the progression of this issue, when there are so many other things that need to be changed. After having lived in San Francisco now for over two years, Caroline has discovered numerous area in which Maryland policies are lacking. Public transportation, for instance, is so much more useful and accessible in her city. Fewer people have cars, never mind any S.U.V.'s or gas-swallowing pick up trucks. Caroline feels that creating more environmental restrictions, such as vehicle type, building lay outs, would be far more useful to the state rather than having the government just dish out money to random environmental organizations.
When asked if she could alter any one thing about Maryland state government, her previously unique responses yielded what seems to be a universal concern for those in the middle class. Caroline states that she has worked hard for her lifestyle, and she does not mind paying to live how she does. It is greatly unfair from her perspective, that an environmentally friendly hybrid driver is being taxed proportionately more than people who make more money than her, and use their Ford 250's for their family road trips. It makes no sense to Caroline that she and her extremely hard working husband pay more taxes than others because of their amount of income. She believes she worked hard and honestly for her money, and the Maryland government should not tax any citizen differently, all should be taxed of proportionately the same amount.
Typically, it is assumed that we live in a middle-class white man’s world. Our interviews have shown shocking similarities between each other, as well as unsuspected polar differences. Many issues seem to universally affect the lives of our state citizens. Environmental issues and health care, for instance, both have proved to be consistently held of high importance. However, how the environmental issues are considered important, how they are to be responded to and by whom tend to differ. Health care issues may affect, for instance, Jeff Meinsohn’s family with public insurance rather that Keith Corner’s family, because Keith holds private health insurance. Though the topic is consistently important, the affected situations all hold great individuality of response and applicable life affected results.
Obviously, taxes of all kinds are a very heated topic. Caroline Miller, for instance, feels she is of a higher class, and enjoys it and accepts the consequences for it. However, the only reason that primarily democratic Mrs. Miller falls at all Republican is because of monetary issues, mostly relating to the fact that she and her husband have a higher income than most in the nation. Keith Corner, however, is currently unemployed. His past job and his wife’s income have them stable at maintaining middle class status. Keith also has not described himself as loyal to one party versus another. In the case of taxes, Keith lies extremely democratic with hopes of a proportionately even tax rate will eventually arise.
All of these people have been exposed to extremely different conditions from all areas of the state of Maryland. Whether it’s different habitual locations, family situations, or monetary status, there are so many extremely differentiating afflicting factors that lead citizens to have so many different emotions, thoughts, and oppositions applicable to Maryland’s state policies. It is surprising, interesting, and eye-opening to view each individual citizens and there individual responses and situations, and to regard how the state is helping or hurting their discussed issues. The state has a wide variety of citizens encompassed in the small land mass, and it is crucial that all voices are heard, and all issues of equal significance are equally addressed.
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[2] http://www.gov.state.md.us/pressreleases/070925.html
[3] http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/triple/preakness/2005-05-19-tracks_x.htm
[4] http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=2268
[5] http://cardin.senate.gov/about/appropriations.cfm
[6] “Public Opinion.” O'Malley calls for 'correcting course'. Vers. 2007. Gare Search. 30 Oct 2007.
[7] www.batltimoresun.com (Liz Kay) (Liz Bowie)
[8] ed.gov
[9] http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2007/062007a.html
[10] http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=598&sid=1282539
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