In the last 4 years – 2012 through 2015 – the Baltimore City Council has enacted only 13 ordinances (municipal laws) with the word “job” or “jobs” in them. Not one of these bills was intended to nor could it possibly effect any material increase in employment or reduction in the unemployment and poverty that have plagued our city for decades. Not one.
“The Numbers Behind Baltimore’s Record Year in Homicides”
Except for this brief introduction, this entire post is quoted from an article dated Friday, January 15 by Jess Bidgood that was published in Sunday’s New York Times. We’re going to give you the section headings. You can use this link to see the entire article. No commentary could make these data more profound or urgent in their implications for what Baltimore needs to do.
The Geography Of Sheila Dixon’s 2007 Victory
Yesterday, we published an article entitled, “Beating Sheila Dixon,” in which we talked about her win in the 2007 Democratic primary for Mayor. Ms. Dixon won that race with 63% of the vote against 7 opponents. That’s impressive by any standard.
Beating Sheila Dixon
Understandably, Sheila Dixon is the early favorite to win April’s Democratic primary and become the next Mayor of Baltimore. Baltimore Rising doesn’t like that outcome because we feel that Ms. Dixon is a poor choice for a city in desperate need of economic recovery. There’s nothing about her record in office or about her campaign to suggest that she appreciates that jobs creation – as part of all-inclusive economic growth, particularly in the city’s disadvantaged neighborhoods – must be the highest priority of city government. She doesn’t get it and wouldn’t know what to do about it even if she did.
Cars-For-Jobs
Jobs and the cars you need to get to them.
If you live in the city of Baltimore, you may have noticed that getting to work can be a very time-consuming, somewhat uncertain process. Commuting by bus can take a while, particularly if you have change lines, and reliability can also be problem. The Governor says he has a plan to make your life better. We’ll see how that works out.
No Reason To Wait
No guarantees, of course, but we can help qualified employers get $100,000 to $10 million for construction and operations in selected Baltimore Neighborhoods.
Unemployment. How bad is it?
If you’re familiar with our work, you’ve heard us say or write the sentence, “Baltimore is a city in crisis.” We’re not kidding. We’re not just saying it for dramatic effect. It’s a fact. And why do we keep saying it? Because we’re concerned that our current city government and many candidates running for Mayor or Council don’t have an appropriate sense of urgency.
Urban Blight?
In Sandtown yesterday, Governor Hogan with Mayor Rawlings-Blake announced an impressive $700 million program called CORE. The acronym stands for Creating Opportunities for Renewal and Enterprise. The link will take you to the official press release.
The idea is that a good number of selected vacant and abandoned structures in the city’s disadvantaged neighborhoods will be torn down over the next 4 years and turned into green spaces that will be developed, eventually, into to mixed use commercial and residential facilities.
Reality Check: Lowering Property Taxes
Candidate for Mayor Nick Mosby has just today published a paper called “Connecting The Dots, A 15 Point plan for Baltimore’s Future.” It’s his platform statement.
Candidate Dixon’s Program To Reduce Crime
Government By Throwing Everything Against The Wall
And Waiting To See What Sticks
Yesterday, Sheila Dixon released what she calls “A Four Point Plan for Making Baltimore Safer.” Her program is in the PDF at the bottom of this piece. You’re all invited to comment on the plan.
Missing The Point
The screenshot above is the opening paragraph from a December 26, 2015 article in the Sun. It’s a good, highly informative piece by Doug Donovan.
Financing For Employers
If you’ve read our post entitled “Vacants-To-Jobs,” you know that Baltimore Rising is introducing legislation that gives employers who are willing to locate in the city’s disadvantaged neighborhoods free property and no property taxes for 5 years. The simple, but nonetheless profound idea is that we’re going to make employers offers they can’t refuse to get them to do what too many businesses have avoided. We’re going to give them a compelling reason to set up shop in a neighborhood some of them don’t even want to drive through, much less park there, get out and spend the day. Heaven forbid, maybe go out to some local place for lunch.’