The Board of Public Works -- Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) seated between Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp (D) and Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) -- at a meeting on Jan. 8, before the COVID-19 pandemic moved their sessions online. The BPW will be asked to ma
Economics is the study of money in motion. Idle money, or the lack of it, does nobody any good.
Extrapolation is risky business. But it does illustrate that in times of economic distress, government is often the employer of last resort. Having workers on the government payroll as tax-paying citizens is far cheaper and more productive than passing out welfare and unemployment checks.
Thus, it’s rather cheeky of Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to play off government workers against constituent programs and, either way, handing to legislators the dirty work of having to choose which group should bear the brunt of the pandemic’s pandemonium.
Given the same quandary himself at the recent Board of Public Works meeting, Hogan whiffed on whittling the public payroll when he couldn’t muster the necessary two votes. The board’s Democrats – Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp – joined in blocking more than $200 million crafted by Hogan as cuts in benefits and pay raises, siding with unions’ vociferous opposition. (Franchot is a declared candidate for governor a couple of years from now.)
