By Adam Pagnucco. President Donald Trump’s war with Iran is blowing the roof off of gasoline prices. When combined with his cuts to federal spending and employment, the dual effect…
Economy
A Culture of Denial
By Adam Pagnucco. I was a chief of staff at the county council from 2010 through 2014. Here is one thing I noticed about county government: there was a ton…
Why Don’t We Have the Money?
By Adam Pagnucco. In response to MCPS’s gigantic capital budget request, much of which made it into County Executive Marc Elrich’s recommended budget, Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez did something that…
Council Staff Warns on Dire Economy
By Adam Pagnucco. In a recent budget memo, the county council’s central staff warned the council about mounting trouble in the county’s economy. That trouble is now spilling over into…
MoCo’s JOBS Initiative Keeps Crawling Along
By Adam Pagnucco. Last year, the county council unanimously approved the JOBS (Jobs, Opportunities & Business Support) initiative, a new $20 million program to provide incentives for businesses. The press…
Brookings Finds Bad News for MoCo’s Economy
By Adam Pagnucco. Last week, the Brookings Institution released a report on the early impacts of federal government cutbacks on the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia (DMV) region’s economy. At the regional level, here…
How MoCo Has Changed Since 2000
By Adam Pagnucco. One of my favorite offices in county government is the county council’s Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO). Staffed by ace analysts, it is the county’s think tank…
Five Findings From the New Maryland NOW Poll
By Adam Pagnucco. The Baltimore Banner and Maryland Matters have previously covered a new statewide poll released by Maryland NOW, focusing on Governor Wes Moore’s softening poll numbers. That’s interesting,…
By Adam Pagnucco. According to Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices filed with the State of Maryland, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) laid off 2,755…
Federal Contractors Begin Mass Layoffs
By Adam Pagnucco. President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to freeze and cut federal funding are starting to take a toll on Maryland’s economy. His first target was the United States…
