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lol at pointing out states like North Dakota and Montana with immensely rich natural resources like natural gas, West Virginia even has coal but is still mostly depressed and poor. Rural Maryland separating from the normal part sounds as smart as Donald Trump's wife leaving him with none of his assets and no alimony
Its funny you mention natural gas as Western Maryland does indeed sit on the Marcellus Shale with plenty of gas deposits especially around Garrett and Alleghany Counties. If it was tapped it would be as lucrative as nearby areas of West Virginia or Pennsylvania that produce gas. But out of fears of offending the liberal sensibilities of Montgomery County (and possibly Howard County and western Baltimore County) voters, O'Malley has a moratorum on gas drilling and even has proposed a full ban pushed by Heather Mizeur of Montgomery, a Democrat. Now they want to force the companies to fund all the drilling studies. Tell me how this isn't basically purposely trying to be business unfriendly?????? And under O'Malley's liberal control even if drilling is ever allowed, it will be too heavily regulated to make it attractive to energy companies compared to North Dakota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky. The Eastern Shore's agriculture will be FAR more profitable without the Democrats regulations on the farms, and tourism and commerce will be boosted if they didn't have to deal with PlanMaryland which basically forbids all population growth and residential expansion in the Eastern Shore, Carroll County, Cecil County, Frederick County, and Western Maryland!
The best wishful solution would be for Montgomery COunty and PG County to leave the state and leave the rest as is (as bad as Baltimore City is, it IS an essential part of Maryland). That way the state as a whole would not be so dependent on the federal government and would be more business friendly, we would have far lower taxes and less liberal laws. Most of the taxes were proposed by Montgomery and PG Democrats including the gas tax increase, the income tax, the alcohol tax and the cigarette taxes. Plus the tolls to fund the ICC which Montgomery's liberal elite demanded that the state build for them. We would have healthy rural economies in Western MD and the Eastern Shore with tourism, agriculture, fishing, and natural gas, plus a healthier economy in Baltimore and Howard Counties where lower taxes might attract more investment. Its a proven fact that companies prefer states with lower taxes, less labor restrictions, and less regulations. This is why a lot of the laid off workers from Sparrows Point have found work in Texas and South Carolina.
And if O'Malley wants to keep Beretta in Maryland, more gun laws are not the way to go about it. For that matter, if they want to attarct the FBI Headquarters to Maryland, they need to prove they are more committed to fighting crime than they are to abolishing the death penalty, taking guns away from law abiding citizens, and rewarding illegal aliens (who are criminals by definition).
TOM LENNOX........You really have some personal issues against Montgomery County and Prince George's County........The funny thing is you leave HOWARD COUNTY out of the equation like they don't follow the same standards as Montgomery County.........You Really want us (Montgomery County) to leave that bad LOL.....You must be from Washington County or Garret County and don't really feel accepted....well get over it..........MMONTGOMERY, HOWARD, AND PG COUNTY set the standard on hoe Maryland is run.......Get over it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks MOM! Divide and alienate is the defining theme of his 2 terms.
Allegany and Garrett County have been voting anti-Maryland majority for pretty much all of our history. .
that may be, but it was probably due to them voting more GOP when the eastern shore and southern Md were dixie dem and were aligned with Baltimore city - during much of that time MoCo was probably closer to them in voting patterns.
As for state lines, they effect things from state laws, to patterns of attendance at Univs, to organization of agencies, to the boundaries for non profit orgs. Changing them every 10 years or so, in response to shifting political alignments, would be a huge cost.
Its funny you mention natural gas as Western Maryland does indeed sit on the Marcellus Shale with plenty of gas deposits especially around Garrett and Alleghany Counties. If it was tapped it would be as lucrative as nearby areas of West Virginia or Pennsylvania that produce gas. But out of fears of offending the liberal
Yet West Virginia and Pennsylvania has higher gas taxes than Maryland.
that may be, but it was probably due to them voting more GOP when the eastern shore and southern Md were dixie dem and were aligned with Baltimore city - during much of that time MoCo was probably closer to them in voting patterns.
As for state lines, they effect things from state laws, to patterns of attendance at Univs, to organization of agencies, to the boundaries for non profit orgs. Changing them every 10 years or so, in response to shifting political alignments, would be a huge cost.
Government is there for the citizens, not vice-versa. I am not really concerned with the problems government agencies would have with this hypothetical situation. They are our public servants. We shouldn't make decisions to serve their interests.
As for the costs, good point. But I since paying more money to the state seems inevitable under the taxes and regulation being proposed, I would say using that same money to fix the underlying problem, breaking up a state with an increasingly mismatched population and divisive one party rule would be an investment in our future.
The problem is that there are only a handful of states that don't have these urban/rural divides. This is in no way unique to Maryland. You would end up dividing the country into 200 city states
TOM LENNOX........You really have some personal issues against Montgomery County and Prince George's County........The funny thing is you leave HOWARD COUNTY out of the equation like they don't follow the same standards as Montgomery County.........You Really want us (Montgomery County) to leave that bad LOL.....You must be from Washington County or Garret County and don't really feel accepted....well get over it..........MMONTGOMERY, HOWARD, AND PG COUNTY set the standard on hoe Maryland is run.......Get over it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with most of your post, and that the capital region of Maryland (always includes MoCo and PG County, sometimes includes Frederick and Howard counties depending on definition) is probably the most influential part of the state.
Honestly though, it does seem like you have some "personal issues" against the rest of Maryland as well. While I have no qualms with Capital/Central Maryland being the most influential part of the state (as I live there myself), you have to respect the fact that not all of the state thinks the same way as you do.
Yet West Virginia and Pennsylvania has higher gas taxes than Maryland.
PA gas taxes are hard to tell about since they're structured differently. There's a liquid fuels tax which is low but also a franchise tax which may or may not be passed on. Governor Corbett (R) has recommended a Maryland like increase over the next three years.
Natural gas taxes are a bone of contention there, though. I don't remember what's it's called but it pretty much went away 30 years ago when no new wells were being drilled and the older wells were shutting down and being plugged. The Counties and Townships want a natural gas tax reinstated due to the new drilling.
As a note, fracking isn't a new procedure or even a new method of extraction. It's just incredibly expensive and the price is just now making it worthwhile to do. I grew up and worked with old gas guys.
Last edited by North Beach Person; 03-18-2013 at 02:00 PM..
Reason: new info
Government is there for the citizens, not vice-versa. I am not really concerned with the problems government agencies would have with this hypothetical situation. They are our public servants. We shouldn't make decisions to serve their interests.
As for the costs, good point. But I since paying more money to the state seems inevitable under the taxes and regulation being proposed, I would say using that same money to fix the underlying problem, breaking up a state with an increasingly mismatched population and divisive one party rule would be an investment in our future.
The point is you will pay for this, and then in 10 years some group in your new state will find themselves a minority and want to break off or rejoin Md or whatever.
first cause the issues will be different. second peoples stances will change (the shift on gay marriage is almost actuarial at this point, due to difference by age group). Third there will be migration as metro areas shift, etc. Not that long ago Va was solidly GOP (or dixiecrat) Now its 2 party. You cant predict how things will change.
Its funny you mention natural gas as Western Maryland does indeed sit on the Marcellus Shale with plenty of gas deposits especially around Garrett and Alleghany Counties. If it was tapped it would be as lucrative as nearby areas of West Virginia or Pennsylvania that produce gas. But out of fears of offending the liberal sensibilities of Montgomery County (and possibly Howard County and western Baltimore County) voters, O'Malley has a moratorum on gas drilling and even has proposed a full ban pushed by Heather Mizeur of Montgomery, a Democrat. Now they want to force the companies to fund all the drilling studies. Tell me how this isn't basically purposely trying to be business unfriendly?????? And under O'Malley's liberal control even if drilling is ever allowed, it will be too heavily regulated to make it attractive to energy companies compared to North Dakota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Kentucky. The Eastern Shore's agriculture will be FAR more profitable without the Democrats regulations on the farms, and tourism and commerce will be boosted if they didn't have to deal with PlanMaryland which basically forbids all population growth and residential expansion in the Eastern Shore, Carroll County, Cecil County, Frederick County, and Western Maryland!
The best wishful solution would be for Montgomery COunty and PG County to leave the state and leave the rest as is (as bad as Baltimore City is, it IS an essential part of Maryland). That way the state as a whole would not be so dependent on the federal government and would be more business friendly, we would have far lower taxes and less liberal laws. Most of the taxes were proposed by Montgomery and PG Democrats including the gas tax increase, the income tax, the alcohol tax and the cigarette taxes. Plus the tolls to fund the ICC which Montgomery's liberal elite demanded that the state build for them. We would have healthy rural economies in Western MD and the Eastern Shore with tourism, agriculture, fishing, and natural gas, plus a healthier economy in Baltimore and Howard Counties where lower taxes might attract more investment. Its a proven fact that companies prefer states with lower taxes, less labor restrictions, and less regulations. This is why a lot of the laid off workers from Sparrows Point have found work in Texas and South Carolina.
And if O'Malley wants to keep Beretta in Maryland, more gun laws are not the way to go about it. For that matter, if they want to attarct the FBI Headquarters to Maryland, they need to prove they are more committed to fighting crime than they are to abolishing the death penalty, taking guns away from law abiding citizens, and rewarding illegal aliens (who are criminals by definition).
If you really did only get rid of MoCo and PG you'd be in the same place you are now with Baltimore swinging the rest of the state to the Dems and O'Malley could move there and be governor another 8 years because he's a resident and was never governor of "North Maryland"!
More seriously, your idea that the rest of the state would be better off without its richest part is very ridiculous. I think you overestimate the state's mineral resources. There are no examples of right wing rural states without a huge natural resource that are prosperous. Educated people leave these areas or avoid them. If what you were saying were true, the richest states in America would be in the Deep South like Mississippi and Alabama. Explain to me why educated people would want to move to an uneducated Christian far-right Alabama-like state without even the warm weather of the Sun Belt.
Considering MD residents have lower tax rates than pretty much anywhere in the industrialized world other than other low tax states in the US, why is that not good enough for you? It seems short sighted and unneccesary to secede from a state because gay marriage and sin taxes bother you. It's a lot like Hugh Hefner's wife angrily demand he stop spending money on his medical care to buy her more stuff.
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