FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA INQUIRIES:
(240) 686-3510 | media@mdpolicy.org 
 

ROCKVILLE, MD (February 1, 2023) — Gov. Wes Moore gave his State of the State address to the Maryland General Assembly today. The Maryland Public Policy Institute issued the following statement today in response.
 

“The most important parts of Governor Moore’s speech were not what he said, but what he didn’t say,” said MPPI President and CEO Christopher Summers. “He neglected to address, in any substance, how he plans to tackle two of the top issues confronting the state: education and crime.”
 

“Doubling down on the same tactic of dumping more of Marylanders’ money into our already flush government school system is the same as doing nothing,” said MPPI Senior Policy Analyst Carol Park. “The governor briefly noted the “largest investment in public education” in the state’s history, in reference to the 2019 Kirwin Commission’s education funding plan, which will ultimately hike education funding by $4 billion per year and will cost a total of nearly $40 billion by 2030. All of this funding has created a system with public schools that spend more and teachers who are paid much more than the national averages. Yet, Moore wants even more from Marylanders—a direct contradiction of his claim that he is not trying to create a big government.
 

There is no way to foot the $40 billion bill without imposing more burden on taxpayers and expanding bureaucracy.
 

“Also, Moore mentions that spending hundreds of millions inefficiently is not the solution, yet the Kirwan plan is going to do precisely that. Research has shown over and over that more spending per pupil does not equal better student outcomes in Maryland. to fund a system that continues to fail its students academically.”

“On crime, Moore offered only vague references to rising violence plaguing our communities,” said MPPI Visiting Fellow Sean Kennedy. “According to the latest Gonzalez Maryland poll, public safety is the number one concern for Maryland’s Democratic, Independent, and Black voters. It rates higher than the economy, education, and housing. To gloss over this issue is an abdication of leadership while homicides, shootings, and carjackings remain at record highs while police numbers and morale are at record lows. Moore must step up and offer real solutions to stem the tide of violence in the state, ensure victims receive justice, and law enforcement has both the moral and resource support they need to protect Maryland’s citizens.”
 

The full State of the State address can be found at: http://governor.maryland.gov.
 

To read the Institute’s policy analysis on these issues and more, visit mdpolicy.org.
 

The Maryland Public Policy Institute is a nonpartisan public policy research and education organization that focuses on state policy issues. The Institute’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies at all levels of government based on principles of free enterprise, limited government, and civil society. Learn more at mdpolicy.org.