“How concerned should I be?” a constituent and friend, Scott Sherman, emailed me yesterday. Scott asked me about a tweet that said Democrats now control only 13 state legislatures (26%). If they lose one more they fall below the % needed to stop constitutional amendments.
“Any words of wisdom or comfort?” he asked.
“The states are the laboratories of democracy,” I replied. “Put your time and expertise into making this dictum of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis a reality in one aspect of policy in Maryland.”
Then I read a Sun article headlined Trump victory sparks activism.
The article describes a 21-year-old political science and American studies major at Washington College who has already shifted his post-college plans from finding a well-paying job that could reduce his student debt to looking for work at a nonprofit or a political job “where I could make a difference.”
I wrote him about the state program which provides grants to recent graduates to help repay their academic debt if they take a lower-paying job in the government or non-profit sector. I introduced the bill that created the Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program.
Which legislative district in Maryland has the most people 25 years of age or older without a college degree? The 6th District in Essex and Dundalk.
A trade war with China will not bring unionized well-paying manufacturing jobs back to Beth Steel or the GM plant on Broening Highway.
On Friday, I asked that language be drafted to require the Baltimore City and County Community Colleges to target job training efforts in areas where the number of college graduates is below a certain level.
I’m no scientist, but I look forward to spending time in Brandeis’ laboratory.
