Food insecurity a signal of wider distortions in public policy

Well-intentioned proposals to reduce "food deserts" in Prince George's tiptoe around the wider inequity that brings on the county’s food security issues – residential segregation, not only by race any more but class, exacerbated by high-profit development that steadily erodes affordability of quality housing and isolates those communities further. A UMCP student's op-ed in the student newspaper highlights these effects, even in booming College Park.

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GOP Tax Plan good for the rich, bad for you -- but Andy Harris likes it

The majority-Republican Congress "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" legislation is barreling down the legislative track. Some have referred to it as the "Job Cuts and Tax Act" because of how horrendous this tax plan will be for the bulk of Maryland residents. 

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Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Nov. 13-20 2017

After a long fight, progressives including our Progressive Maryland stalwarts celebrated the signing of Montgomery County’s $15 minimum wage bill Monday. Progressive MoCo plans a celebration; see below.

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Pelosi, Raskin Rally Moco Audience Against GOP Tax Plan

Raskin and Pelosi rallied the crowd to cheers with their analysis of the GOP tax plan. Raskin attacked the plan for being largely composed of corporate giveaways. These include a drop in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 12% on income currently stashed overseas and 10% on profits from transnational activities. Deriding the bill as the “billionaire tax break and job cutting plan,” Raskin noted also that the Republican plan slashes $1.5 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid over a decade.

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Progressive groups gather to hear Del. Tarlau preview Assembly session

Three of Prince George’s County’s progressive-resistance organizations met in a profitable and friendly exchange Nov. 1 sponsored by PG Democratic Socialists of America organizing committee, Progressive Prince George’s and Our Revolution Prince George’s. It was a good mix of the three, thirty-plus activists there thanks to the courtesy of IBEW Local 26 in Lanham to hear Del. Jimmy Tarlau discuss the upcoming 2018 General Assembly session and what progressives could hope to press for.

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VICTORY! The Fight for $15 is won in MoCo

Rockville, MD – This morning the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed Bill 28-17 to raise the minimum wage in Montgomery County from $11.50 an hour to $15 an hour. The bill would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour for employees of business of 51 or more people by 2021. The wage hike will reach businesses of 49 or less people by 2023 and business of 10 or fewer people by 2024. The passage includes a provision to index the minimum for inflation starting in 2022.

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Staying home on Election Day: the ultimate bad decision

 “There are 13 municipal elections on the ballot Tuesday, and a handful of others are scattered throughout November. Voters will head to the polls Tuesday in Annapolis, Bel Air, Chestertown, College Park, Denton, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Greenbelt, Greensboro, Laurel, Marydel, Pittsville and Takoma Park.

Annapolis and Frederick are the big prizes. These are partisan elections, in contrast to the others — and both political parties have a lot at stake.”

These are not to be ignored. Here's why.

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Progressive Maryland Weekly Memo for Nov. 6-12

It’s Election Day in more places than you might think tomorrow – some folks will be GOTV-busy in Virginia, lending a hand to competitive progressive candidates in NoVa, others focused on Annapolis or Frederick municipal elections (see below) or others around the state. And MoCo has a big Council vote on a $15 minimum wage tomorrow, as well. Find out about all this, and more...

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Guaranteed Health Care Digest: "Tax Reform" Hazardous to Health Care

The GOP "tax reform" plan that dumps still more money into the hands of corporations and the rich pays for it by taking money away from working families. Here is what this bill means for the US and for Maryland, the impact on health care and opportunities to fight back.

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Maglev? Hyperloop? How about fixing what we've got?

The concrete achievement of a really useful intercity rail system is in reach for Maryland if it defers the maglev and hyperloop dreams in favor of the needs of today’s household travelers.

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