Category Archives: Economy

Maryland Coast Dispatch Q & A

Posted on September 10, 2010 | Leave a comment
Chamber of House of Delegates, Maryland State ...

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Below are questions from Steve Green, editor of the Maryland Coast Dispatch to District 38B House of Delegates candidates (three Democrats and four Republicans), along with my answers. Note that answers were limited to 120 words each. The responses of all the delegate candidates were printed in the Sept. 10, 2010, edition of the Dispatch, beginning on Page 8A.

Candidate: Bernard John Hayden

Age:  62

Current Profession:  Retired.

Professional Background: Journalism and editing. Congressional Information Service, 13 years, the last nine as managing editor. Carroll County Times, six years, news editor and copy desk chief.  The Baltimore Sun, six years, copy editor and makeup editor. Managed the Boardwalk 5 &10 in Ocean City four seasons (1972 -1975) and worked winters at Edwards 5 &10. In 2009 and 2010, seasonal jobs in the Ocean City hospitality industry.

Residence: West Ocean City.

Four Questions To Be Printed Verbatim In Sept. 10 Issue (Max: 120 words)

Q. Why are you running for this particular public office? Please give at least three reasons.

Hayden: The global economy has changed, and more economic shocks probably lie ahead. Maryland must reform government and spending. I hope to be able to contribute to sound decisions by the General Assembly.

Second, voters have lost confidence in government and both political parties. If people give up on government, we’ll be at the edge of chaos. We need term limits on career politicians, and to streamline bureaucracy. No one is entitled to a political or bureaucratic job for life.

Finally, Ocean City, West Ocean City, and Ocean Pines should be represented in Annapolis. Some District 38B candidates are from Pocomoke, or Wicomico County. I live in West Ocean City and understand the seasonal resort economy.

Q. Eastern Shore representatives, particularly those who are new to Annapolis, traditionally have a tough time getting their voices heard during heated debates, such as the budget. How will you overcome this?

Hayden: Some legislators are in over their heads. Novice delegates who’ve lived all their lives in one rural county or one small town can sink like a stone in Annapolis. I have a broad understanding of Maryland government and politics from my work as an editor and journalist on the Western Shore, plus eight years as a Democratic precinct chairman in Montgomery County. I will work cooperatively with delegates from other parts of Maryland, and help them understand issues unique to the Lower Eastern Shore. Communication is a two-way street. Like college freshmen, new delegates should: 1) Attend your committee meetings and do your committee homework; and 2) Avoid being sucked into the late-night drinking scene.

Q. Reducing spending is expected to be a necessity during next year’s General Assembly session to balance the budget. Would you support increasing property taxes, or any other type of tax or fees, to make up the expected gap between expenditures and revenues?

Hayden: No new taxes in the next four years. The only exception: I would vote to increase the alcohol tax, which has not been raised in decades and is among the lowest in the country, by a dime a drink. The revenue is needed to keep schools and Medicaid afloat. We should begin cutting the sales tax when that is possible. Maryland will realize some added revenue from slots beginning in 2011.

Q. If elected, there’s a chance you may have to co-sponsor or at least support a bill deciding the Liquor Control Board for Worcester County’s future. What’s your position on the LCB?

Hayden: Worcester County leaders and voters have decided in the past that the Liquor Control Board benefits local residents. I believe that remains true today. It’s an unusual monopoly arrangement, but the liquor business is an unusual enterprise. The Liquor Control Board is better than a liquor store on every corner, and it provides needed jobs and revenue to the county.

If an audit finds corruption or incompetence, we should fire those responsible. If an audit reveals part of the Liquor Board operation is broken, we should fix it. Bar owners imagine that abolishing the Liquor Control Board would benefit them. But bar owners constitute a special interest. I will represent all the people of Worcester County.

– Bernard John Hayden

Democratic Party

District 38B, Worcester County and part of Wicomico County.


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Posted in Economy, Election 2010, Maryland politics

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People! Be Careful Out There

Posted on August 29, 2010 | Leave a comment

Phil Esterhaus

Are you old enough to remember the roll-call sergeant on Hill Street Blues? As the officers headed for the exits, he froze them in place.

“Hey, hey, hey, people!”

All eyes turned toward the sarge.

“Remember people, let’s be CAREFUL out there.”

People, let’s be careful when we vote this year.

How can you tell if a candidate is focused on your best interests? Or some special interest?

One or two local Republican candidates primarily represent poultry growers. That’s perfectly all right. The poultry industry is important to the Eastern Shore economy. But it’s not the only industry on the Shore. Tourism is pretty important, too. No industry should have a disproportionate share of political power.

Poultry industry advocates claim state clean-water regulations will put chicken growers out of business. That’s nonsense. If we allow water pollution, it will definitely put the tourism industry out of business. And the watermen, and the seafood industry.

Let’s do some problem-solving. We can find cost-effective ways to control runoff that will NOT put anyone out of business. There’s plenty of room on the Shore for farming, and seafood, and tourism.

Some candidates of the Republican persuasion have a simplistic slogan. “Less Taxes — More Jobs.” Sounds good a to me.  But how exactly does that work?

You reduce taxes for businesses, and presto, you get more jobs? What about reducing taxes for ordinary people? Let’s cut the sales tax, as soon as it’s feasible. That would benefit both businesses and consumers.

Businesses create jobs. Everybody says it, so it must be true. Well fine, show me the jobs. Seems to me, businesses have been busy exporting jobs for at least two decades. Corporations take the tax breaks and run for the border. It’s called corporate welfare.

Small businesses have a legitimate gripe about burdensome regulations. There’s too many rules, they’re too complex, and they’re enforced by arrogant bureaucrats. Cut regulations to the bone for small businesses, I say. But watch the big corporations like a hawk.

Wish I had some easy answers for our economic predicament, but I don’t.

Rather than answers, it’s important to ask the right questions. Take some examples:

  • A bill to water down clean-water regulations? Who does it benefit? If the answer is narrow, like “It benefits chicken growers,” then I’m suspicious. If the answer is wide, like “It benefits all people who use the water,” or “future generations,” then I’m in favor of it.
  • An amendment for a moratorium on school construction? Who does it benefit? If it benefits all the children, I’m for it. If it benefits taxpayers, I’m sympathetic, but I’m against it. If it has to be framed as children vs. taxpayers, I’ll come down on the side of the children every time.
  • A proposal to eliminate government regulation of the egg industry? Or the oil-drilling industry? Or the meat industry? Let’s talk about that after supper. What we need is government to do a better job  enforcing the regulations already on the books.

Let’s be careful out there in this global economy. Don’t go swimming with sharks. Just say “No” to the special interests.

– John Hayden

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Posted in Economy, Election 2010, Environment, Maryland politics

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“What’s In It For Me?”

Posted on August 22, 2010 | Leave a comment

Let me tell you a story.

It’s about a strike we almost had when I worked at Maryland’s largest newspaper.

The Sun was intent on breaking the Baltimore-Washington Newspaper Guild, following the example of The Free Press in Detroit. Guild members included famous reporters;  anonymous night copy editors (like me); hundreds of advertising and circulation department employees; and about 40 janitors.

The newspaper’s strategy was to force a strike by outsourcing the janitors’ jobs to low-paying contractors. Guild leaders felt honor-bound to defend  the janitors.

The tension built through weeks of  negotiations. On deadline day, everyone was ready to strike. We knew there would be no coming back. Some of us would find jobs in other cities; most would be jobless.

When copy editors came to work that afternoon, management people were sitting in our chairs. Security guards were standing by.

At 4 p.m. word came that The Sun had offered a contract. A grim-faced manager passed out a memo. He asked us to vote for the contract.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

At 6 p.m., Guild members — hundreds strong — marched  across Calvert Street to vote the contract down. We took our belongings with us.

We gathered at Center Stage. The 10 members of the negotiating committee sat at a table up front. One young women spoke for the committee. I don’t remember her name. She was a graphic artist in the newsroom. Like most newsroom employees, she was well-educated and relatively well-paid.

She said The Sun had offered a deal, and the negotiating committee was recommending we accept it.

“You want to know what’s in this contract,” she said. “You want to know, what’s in it for you. I can tell you what’s in it for me.”

She said the next sentence slowly:

“There’s . .. NOTHING . . .in this contract . . . for ME. . . .”

No raises for the newsroom. BUT, we had saved the jobs of the janitors. We had gained small pay increases for a few members at the bottom of the scale. That was it.

“If you’re like me, there’s nothing in this for you. But I’m asking you to ratify this contract.”

It took a few minutes to sink in. We had won, but only a few would benefit. We voted to approve the contract, grudgingly.

As we approach the 2010 elections in a time of economic uncertainty, Americans are sharply divided into two groups.

  1. Those who say, “What’s in it for me? I want mine!”
  2. And those who say, “What’s best for the least among us? I’m willing to sacrifice for my neighbors and my country.”

We’ll decide by Election Day, each of us in the privacy of the voting booth. I expect that “What’s in it for me?” will win, but I hope I’m wrong.

– John Hayden

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The ‘Great Reset’ and the 2010 Election

Posted on August 20, 2010 | Leave a comment
Annapolis - Maryland State House

Maryland State House in Annapolis, Image by 1Flatworld via Flickr

I’m republishing a post I wrote for “Maryland On My Mind,” on Jan. 13, 2010. Seven months later, these points seem more relevant than ever. The economic crisis and political polarization grow more unpredictable with each passing month. But many people remain in denial about the realities of change and dislocation.

I believe the General Assembly has taken the first, faltering steps along the road to the Great Reset. But most of the country, and most of Maryland, is paralyzed by fear, anger, and a can’t-do mentality. It is not good for polarization to be so extreme, and hatred so widespread.

Legislators elected this year are going to have to look fear in the eye and stare it down. They’ll have to endure distrust and hostility every day, but move calmly forward into an unpredictable future. Somehow, they’ll need to begin to heal our divisions and restore trust.

________________________________________________________

JAN. 13, 2010 — Today is the first day of the 2010 legislative session for the Maryland General Assembly. The state of Maryland, along with most of its counties and local governments, is at a point of financial reckoning.

Maryland is not alone. Almost every other state is in the same predicament, or worse. It is possible that California may suffer default or bankruptcy in some form this year.

I think 2010 will mark the beginning of the Great Reset in America, starting at the state and local and household levels. (Richard Florida has written a book titled “The Great Reset.”) By reset, I mean that we will have to accept change, and establish new paradigms, new “normals,” in our economy, politics, government, and business. This means adjustments in our daily way of living. It started with work and employment. The jobs aren’t coming back. I doubt that consumer spending will come back either. We may need to adjust to smaller houses and smaller cars. We definitely need less borrowing and debt.

Jon Taplin has written extensively about what he calls “the Interregnum.” Jon says the old order has ended, but the new order has not yet begun, or if it has begun, it has not been firmly established. So we are in between, a time of Interregnum. I think that, at least at the State level, we are entering a later stage of the Interregnum, the Great Reset.

Throughout 2009, America was grieving the demise of the American Dream. Many people have suffered in the collapse of economic bubbles, the Wall Street crisis, and government intervention to rescue the private sector. Anger has degenerated into arguing, finger-pointing, and extreme partisan acrimony.

The next stage, which begins in 2010, has to be acceptance, or at least recognition, of change. Many of our economic and political assumptions and paradigms need to be examined. State governments are being forced to address fiscal crises. Legislatures from Maryland to California need to set new priorities for spending and government services. Some of the changes in education, health care, government bureaucracies, pensions, and government regulation will be difficult to accept.

Of course, many in America still hope for a return to the status quo ante. We long for the comfort of the bubbles. People need to accept that the clock cannot be turned back. We cannot repeat the same mistakes.

For the Maryland General Assembly and most of America, beginning the the Great Reset this year will be difficult because it’s an election year. Painful decisions about the Great Reset have been postponed until 2011. Some individuals and families are out ahead of government and business — many of us have already started to adjust our lifestyles and spending.

But many vested interests will resist resetting as stubbornly as Wall Street bankers have resisted parting with their bonuses. The Great Reset is going to take more than one year.

– John Hayden

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