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It's Funny Because It's True
Maryland, like most states, would like businesses to
open up shop within its borders. So the state put up a nice little
website with all the great
things about doing business in Maryland.
An educated workforce! Low taxes! Rolling hills! And very low union membership. Err, whoops? Did we say that last part out loud?
The “Choose Maryland” site said Maryland has a “quality workforce … key to achieving corporate goals” and pointed out that private-sector union membership in Maryland is below the national average and that between 1990 and 2001, unions won representation rights for only 1 percent of the total new firms.
Naturally, hilarity ensues and everyone has to apologize for stating the obvious.
Of course, touting low union membership is unacceptable. But a little South-bashing never hurt anyone:
“Outraged e-mails are flying across the state’s entire labor movement,” Maryland Politics Watch’s Adam Pagnucco wrote. “We cannot believe that rhetoric typical of Georgia and Oklahoma would be sanctioned at any level inside the [Gov. Martin] O’Malley administration.”
More reason on unions here.
Mad Max|7.17.08 @ 11:41AM|#
Is it really "South-bashing" for a Marylander to insult Georgia
and Oklahoma? Especially if counting Oklahoma as a Southern state
can only be done by adopting standards so broad as to include
Maryland? Then you'd just have someone in one Southern state
insulting two other Southern states. If Maryland isn't Southern,
then neither is Oklahoma, so you'd just have someone in a
non-Southern state insulting two states, one Southern and one
non-Southern.
Strictly speaking, Maryland has a greater claim to Southern-hood
than Oklahoma. The North had to send in troops to keep Maryland
from seceding. Oklahoma wasn't even a state at all during the Civil
War.
jtuf|7.17.08 @ 11:41AM|#
Workers form unions when they feel that management is mistreating them. Assuming no one is intimidating workers to keep them from unionizing, a lack of unions indicates good management-labor relationships. Why not point that out.
Elemenope|7.17.08 @ 11:43AM|#
"Yay! We're unionized!"
"Yeah, bub, but the government heavies are here. With guns."
"I know! You know who else has guns? The MOB! Let's ask them for
help!"
[Sigh.]
Jozef|7.17.08 @ 11:45AM|#
Workers form unions when they feel that management is
mistreating them.
No. Workers form unions when the managements gives them too much
free time. If the workers were worked into the ground they wouldn't
have the time and energy to do stupid things.
|7.17.08 @ 11:45AM|#
The labor issue is going to be big this election - the EFCA is
on the floor and this election may determine whether or not people
will continue to have a right to a private ballot on whether or not
their workplace organizes. I've been trying to get statements from
politicians in New Hampshire about the issue, but they are.. uh...
unwilling to talk about it. Video evidence here
and here
Richard Upton Pickman|7.17.08 @ 11:46AM|#
Mad Max is right - I'm from the South and Oklahoma ain't in that
club.
Josh - I have taught in Ohio where the lovely State Teachers
Retirement Fund automatically enrolls you and then takes a chunk of
your paycheck each month. The number of hoops you have to jump
through to gert it (if you move, change jobs, etc) is
incredible.
|7.17.08 @ 11:46AM|#
"I wore an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. Now this was a yellow onion. They didn't have white onions because of the war."
Mad Max|7.17.08 @ 11:46AM|#
Not to mention that Maryland, even today, has a state song which
expresses Confederate sympathies:
http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/01glance/html/symbols/song.html
Oklahoma's state song doesn't even mention the Civil War (the song
is from some kind of musical, whose name escapes me right
now):
http://www.travelok.com/about/index.asp#07
Episiarch|7.17.08 @ 11:47AM|#
Is there actually anything good about Maryland? I lived in Baltimore while I was at Johns Hopkins and that city sucks eggs.
|7.17.08 @ 11:50AM|#
If Maryland isn't Southern, then neither is
Oklahoma,
Yes, but Maryland is very proud to be a blue state and they put
their (ugly-ass) flag on EVERYTHING so that they don't get mistaken
for Virginians (VA being a pure red state until this decade.)
It's a very similar phemonenon to Canadians wearing maple leafed
garb everywhere when travelling abroad so that people don't mistake
them for Americans.
Anyone who didn't want to be run by the every whim of Baltimore has
a short move to get to PA or VA. Thus their pride in their
Marylanditudiness.
Mad Max|7.17.08 @ 11:53AM|#
Richard Upton Pickman,
Lovecraft says you were from Boston. Or did you move South after
your, uh, change of life?
Richard Upton Pickman|7.17.08 @ 12:01PM|#
Max - Yeah, much increased mobility since I left the oppressive
confines of New England.
Randolph - Sorry.
|7.17.08 @ 12:08PM|#
Anyone who didn't want to be run by the every whim of
Baltimore has a short move to get to PA or VA. Thus their pride in
their Marylanditudiness.
Sorry, Damar, no one in (the Great State of) Maryland has to do
anything that Balmer says/does, considering that Annapolis is the
state capitol.
(full disclosure: can you guess where I live? P.S. Hint #2: MD's
flag is beautiful! P.P.S Hint #3: Virginia Sucks!)
Josh|7.17.08 @ 12:19PM|#
I don't see how rolling hills are an advantage either, they can get pretty steep and it isn't so pleasant if you like to walk everywhere.
|7.17.08 @ 12:32PM|#
Epi--No. Not even when considering crabs. It pretty much sucks
all around.
Full disclosure: I've lived as an inmate of the Free State for most
of my life.
|7.17.08 @ 12:36PM|#
Episiarch,
Judging the entire state by it armpit? On a person, unavoidable; in
a state, very avoidable.
|7.17.08 @ 12:42PM|#
Sorry, Damar, no one in (the Great State of) Maryland has to
do anything that Balmer says/does, considering that Annapolis is
the state capitol.
I think it was a reference to political power in terms of voter
strength, not where the government is based out of. Just like how
Michigan is at the whim of Detroit, even though the capital is
Lansing.
|7.17.08 @ 12:43PM|#
Epi and JW,
So one of you lived in Balmer and the other in prison? Sorry gents,
then you haven't the information for a legitimate opinion on the
whole of Maryland. You could certainly offer up some pretty damning
examples of why Baltimore sucks or why the Prison system sucks.
However, One could say the same things about Pittsburgh or Detroit
(albeit those are bigger cities) as one could say about Baltimore.
Further, I would venture a guess that being in prison sucks
everywhere, right?
Fuck it, I'm going sailing this weekend.
(thank you anomdebus for saying all this more succinctly than I
did)
|7.17.08 @ 12:45PM|#
Epi-11:47 am
Not one of my favorite places..but, how about Camden Yards? For
some of us, Camden Yards is Fenway Park South.
Mad Max|7.17.08 @ 1:24PM|#
"Wait, 'O Christmas Tree' has Confederate sympathies?"
We're talking Bible Belt, dude.
Up North, it's "O seasonal deciduous plant, O seasonal deciduous
plant, how I do long to hug thee"
Just kidding, Yankees.
Some Soweborefugee|7.17.08 @ 1:27PM|#
I've lived in Maryland for 32 of 35 years, moving all the way
from Howard County, to Baltimore, to Montgomery County. Wasn't
really planned that way, but... hey.
Baltimore is no longer the population center, but they still run
things, and probably always will, even though MoCo (thanks to the
federal teat and 1 million persons) drives our state's economy
now.
It's changed a bit, but if you ever ride out I-68 into the west, or
go south of Route 50 on the Eastern Shore, you'll discover a lot of
like, Appalachian, deep-south-type mentalities, and probably the
ads are trying to lure more jobs into Hagerstown, Cumberland, et al
(former manufacturing cities that saw their only growth hopes on
becoming 90-mile-away suburbs of the DC Metro area... a plan that
doesn't work with $4 gas).
Say what you will about MD, pound for pound it still has more
secret driving routes you can take into Virginia for cheap cartons
of cigarettes than just about any other state in the union.
So, that's something.
Other Matt|7.17.08 @ 1:47PM|#
We cannot believe that rhetoric typical of Georgia and
Oklahoma would be sanctioned at any level inside the [Gov. Martin]
O'Malley administration.
That is hilarious.
Say what you will about MD, pound for pound it still has more
secret driving routes you can take into Virginia for cheap cartons
of cigarettes than just about any other state in the
union.
I don't know about "secret", that doggone Potomac River tends to
get in the way a lot.
Wouldn't it be a hoot to send a bunch of emails to the econ
development wonk asking "So, how is MD's union membership?"
|7.17.08 @ 1:49PM|#
Imagine my surprise after moving down here that Delaware is
technically "the south".. Aw shucks!
And as both DE and MD are not right-to-work states, both are
screwed as far as maintaining let alone attracting new industrial
investment. Chrysler's plant is closing, probably gonna be sold to
the Univ of DE for a parking lot or something. GM's last products
in Newport DE (Saturn Sky/Pontiac Solstice) are being consolidated
into KY or TE (both right-to-work states IIRC), with no replacement
product planned.
DE has 2 underutilized auto plants that would be GREAT for Toyota
or Honda to come and build hybrid cars in, plenty of skilled
workers... But DE is not a right-to-work state. YOU LOSE! GOOD DAY
SIR!!
But then again, I forgot... BRAC will SAVE EVERYONE!!!!!!
Other Matt|7.17.08 @ 1:51PM|#
The actual quote, I believe, is this:
Private sector union membership is 6.0 percent of the workforce, which is lower than many Northeast and Midwest states. Maryland also boasts a workforce with a strong work ethic and sense of community that contributes to the state's historically stable labor-management relations.
It's still
here for as long as it lasts.
Other Matt|7.17.08 @ 2:07PM|#
BRAC will SAVE EVERYONE!!!!!!
Base Realignment And Closure? That BRAC, or another one? Sorry to
be ignorant on DE, but what the hell does that have to do with
anything?
|7.17.08 @ 2:13PM|#
BRAC is all they talk about in MD (at least the eastern shore),
and the jobs it's supposed to bring as bases, facilities and
contracts in other states consolidate into MD. IIRC several bases
in NJ are due for closure, transferring a number of their personnel
and tasks to MD.
There's a real bit of something there, but MD has pinned an awful
lot of hopes on it.. Methinks it's a bubble...
|7.17.08 @ 2:21PM|#
Episiarch,
Judging the entire state by it armpit? On a person, unavoidable; in
a state, very avoidable.
If metro Baltimore is the armpit, what do you call the Eastern
Shore?
MattXIV|7.17.08 @ 2:25PM|#
The only good things about MD are the seafood and the fact that you're within driving distance of Delaware, so you can avoid paying sales tax on major retail purchases, which also happens to be the only good thing about Delaware.
Some Soweborefugee|7.17.08 @ 2:27PM|#
I don't know about "secret", that doggone Potomac River tends to
get in the way a lot.
Yep, that's why they're called "secret..." and it's Loudoun County
that'll sometimes have Marlboro/Camels for $20 a carton.
MattXIV|7.17.08 @ 2:28PM|#
If metro Baltimore is the armpit, what do you call the Eastern Shore
The flabby, barbed-wire-tattooed, upper arm.
Some Soweborefugee|7.17.08 @ 2:29PM|#
If metro Baltimore is the armpit, what do you call the Eastern
Shore?
A shithouse.
|7.17.08 @ 3:05PM|#
I've got nothing against unions. They're just another organization like the Rotary, Elk's Lodge or the Sunday Morning Objectivist Worship Group. If all my employees want collective bargaining for wages, then fine, I'll give theme lowest common denominator wages. And if they all walk out on strike, I'll go hire some new employees. No problem.
Other Matt|7.17.08 @ 4:00PM|#
Methinks it's a bubble...
Methinks it's Mikulski. As moonbat leftist that she generally is,
she tends to be quite cutthroat on bringing fed money to the scene.
Shameless as Byrd but lesser known.
Other Matt|7.17.08 @ 4:04PM|#
Yep, that's why they're called "secret..." and it's Loudoun
County that'll sometimes have Marlboro/Camels for $20 a
carton.
Unless you're driving an old military duck and have access to some
of the old fords, you're either on 495, US 15, MD 17, or taking a
ferry to go to Loudoun. Not too much secret there.
Besides, it's much cheaper in general down in the Smyth Co area
(pronounced "Smith" for those who aren't from 'round there)
brandon|7.17.08 @ 4:11PM|#
O'Malley's election and tax hikes have productive Marylanders leaving the state in droves. The economy prospers in spite of the state government's best efforts to destroy it; DC's federal jobs aren't going anywhere. The private sector locates in Virginia. Just look at the direction of beltway traffic during rush hour.
|7.17.08 @ 5:37PM|#
So one of you lived in Balmer and the other in
prison?
Um, Kool, that was a metaphor.
I've lived in Maryland since 1975. It sucks donkey balls.
Some Soweborefugee|7.17.08 @ 6:51PM|#
Unless you're driving an old military duck and have access
to some of the old fords, you're either on 495, US 15, MD 17, or
taking a ferry to go to Loudoun. Not too much secret
there.
U.S. 340
says hi.
Besides, it's much cheaper in general down in the Smyth Co area
(pronounced "Smith" for those who aren't from 'round
there).
Umm, I-81 goes east after Roanoke for a reason. And unless they're
$5 a carton in Smythe, we're not making this work with gas.
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