When I saw a recent headline saying a typical retired couple in Maryland needs more than $1.2 million to retire comfortably, my first reaction was anxiety.

I started doing the math in my head. My mortgage. My electric bill. Groceries. Insurance. The money I have tried to put away for retirement. The things I know I will need to pay for as I get older.

Then I thought about how many years I have left to work and how much I would have to save between now and retirement to get anywhere near $1.2 million.

I honestly don't know how I am supposed to get there.

According to a new Investopedia analysis, Maryland is among the most expensive states in the country for retirees. A typical retired couple here needs at least $1.2 million in savings to maintain a comfortable standard of living. Nationally, the figure is about $1.16 million. And that calculation doesn't include everything a retiree might face, including long-term care and state taxes.

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Surprisingly, Trump's EPA is filling some of the funding gap for the Chesapeake Bay's health left by Trump's cancellation of a Biden executive order for that funding (Trump just seems to be Sharpie-ing the list from top to bottom). Not necessarily connected, Maryland legislators are working up a bipartisan effort to manage the menhaden harvest so as not to starve ospreys and rockfish. Meanwhile the Guv has signed a housing-stock enhancement plan that, of course, is called insufficient by advocates.  Speaking of the Guv, third-party candidates are way past miffed because the only debate between Moore and his GOP opponent will not include Green and Working Class Party candidates. And when it comes to national politics, Rep. Jamie Raskin is agitating for an investigation into pro-Trump political ads that nakedly admit they are "funded by the US Government." Wha? This just adds to the nervousness around the states (who are constitutionally in charge of elections) that Trump & Co. might have some election-tampering up their sleeves.

And we have more, including new from states both next door and afar, an explanation of "Originalism" as the right-leaning Supremes begin their new term, and a Grovel of the Week from who else but Elon Musk. Check it all out in News You Can Use for this week.

The Memo will be posted here after the email version has been sent...

Whammies, although too varied to add up to a double whammy, approach Marylanders at maybe a higher rate of speed than we are ready for. If you are an ACA participant, medical costs could climb 15 percent as Affordable Care Act subsidies vanish with federal cuts made to make up for the big tax breaks for the rich (yes, it is that simple). A more modest Maryland levy, cleverly called the "flush tax" by the bygone Hogan campaign, may not be cut back in 2030 after all -- it is working too well keeping the Bay clean (Trump Inc. won't do it so somebody's got to). Gov. Moore disappoints the no-data-center coalition by stopping short of a moratorium on the facilities in the state but requires them to "minimize their projects’ adverse impacts on local communities, ecosystems and energy infrastructure."  Another federally-based gripe for Maryland parents is the federal cutback on special education funding -- while the state's own watchdogs measure the benefits of the Blueprint for school improvement against costs. Meanwhile, good news for households but risky for business: can AI agents help you find cheaper services, travel and banking sources -- and what does that mean for the businesses who have been counting on "consumer inertia" [that is, it's too much trouble to switch] to keep their customers? All News You Can Use for this week... 

Events from Annapolis to Maryland's counties, to cop shops and medical examiners, to Trump's bizarre reset on Bay restoration, all jostle here with news from other states (yep, data center concerns are up front). And the related notion of artificial-intelligence safety seethes in pre-summit US-China backroom mutterings -- plus we have People's Action's weekly report on skulduggery in D.C., even when half the Congress has adjourned for desperate attempts to campaign at home in the face of really bad polls for the GOP. All this plus rabid raccoons and bats. We have all the News You Can Use, so dig in. 

Regarding “Exelon utilities are refusing to refund $32M to customers, citing a change in state law” (Sept. 1):

Let’s get this straight: BGE overcharges Baltimore ratepayers $28 million, admits it in public filings, and then weaponizes a loophole in a law called the “Utility RELIEF Act” to keep our money? This couldn't be a more insulting script.

LTE in response to "Maryland regulators slash Pepco rate increase request by more than half"

As a Baltimore resident watching BGE continuously squeeze working families, reading about the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) Pepco decision made my blood boil. Governor Wes Moore’s claim that cutting a rate increase in half is a "major win" is misleading and shows how completely disconnected our state leadership is from the reality on the ground.

This week's Memo will be posted here after the email version has been sent.