Government

Before sunrise Monday, Kevin and Shelley Taylor set out from their Millersville home to a new employment center for the Maryland Live! Casino, a slots parlor next to the Arundel Mills mall seeking workers for 1,500 jobs. Having tracked the progress of what will be the state's largest casino, the Taylors believe the facility could provide opportunity for their five-member family. Though Kevin Taylor has a job, he wants a better-paying one. And Shelley Taylor has been out of work for several months.

Did you hear about the new bill that would allow the U.S. government's official overseas information agency to rebroadcast its content onto American TV and radio? The bipartisan Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 was introduced in Congress last week by Reps. Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican, and Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, both of whom are presumably dissatisfied with their satellite TV package and think more government-produced content would go down better with an after-work beer.

If all goes as planned, sometime this morning a spacecraft will blast off from its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and ride a fiery plume of contrails upward through the pre-dawn darkness to begin a two-week journey to the International Space Station and back. But the flight won't be just another NASA resupply mission. Instead, the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon cargo capsule built by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation - SpaceX for short - will be the first commercially owned and operated vehicle ever to rendezvous with the station's orbiting astronauts.

This is the season when local governments finalize their budgets for the next fiscal year, and the grousing about their penurious circumstances is in full swing. Some are even complaining that the state's revised budget and tax plan - signed into law by Gov.Martin O'Malleythis week - has put a serious crimp in their finances. In particular, they blame the state's decision to shift a portion of the cost of teacher retirement contributions to Baltimore City and the counties as ruinous to their own budgets.

Albert Lord doesn't like to wait - not in business or on the golf course. The colorful chairman of student loan behemoth Sallie Mae, who's embroiled in a nasty fight over the failed sale of the company, has spent 40 years in the accounting and banking industries. He said that experience should have instilled in him a measure of patience, but it hasn't. Whether in traffic, at the office or on the links, Lord said, he just doesn't like to wait. He can't do much about the first two, but he's got a sure-fire solution for the last one: He's building his own, an 18-hole golf course on land he's acquired amid shuttered tobacco farms and grazing horses in southern Anne Arundel County.

I take exception to Thomas Schaller's assertion that "Overhead in federal insurance programs like Medicare and Social Security is minimal. By some estimates, only 2 percent of expenditures go to administrative overhead" ("Sure, government is flawed - but markets are too," May 16). My wife formerly worked in the Social Security Administration, and she says Mr. Schaller's arguments are way off the mark. "By some estimates?" How vague is that? Why doesn't The Sun require the learned professor to cite his sources?

When people run for office, they solicit and receive campaign contributions from people in many lines of work. It can cost a lot of money to run for public office. But what are the expectations once the election is over? Is it realistic to expect someone who makes a major contribution to a candidate to stand back for four years and expect that elected official to do what the contributor thinks is the right thing? Is it OK for the office holder to meet regularly with the contributor to review legislation that directly affects the contributor?

Did you hear about the new bill that would allow the U.S. government's official overseas information agency to rebroadcast its content onto American TV and radio? The bipartisan Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 was introduced in Congress last week by Reps. Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican, and Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, both of whom are presumably dissatisfied with their satellite TV package and think more government-produced content would go down better with an after-work beer.

A reader who responded to The Sun's editorial regarding the city's effort to find private groups to run its recreation centers objects on the grounds that this is a "responsibility of city government. " Really, it's the city's responsibility to baby-sit the city's children? What happened to the parents in this equation? What happened to their responsibilities? The city government's responsibilities include such things as public education, garbage pickup, safety, and enforcing and enacting laws among other things.

I find it unbelievable that the cost for the 2010 census is estimated at just under $15 billion. A quick calculation shows that the cost translates to almost $50 per U.S. citizen. In this day of number crunching and data mining, this per capita cost seems excessive. I am sure if this process were placed under bid by private contractors, a less costly and more efficient process would ensue. This government endeavor only provides fodder for those who condemn government services. Chris Shane, Towson

Recently I spent 90 minutes on the metal benches at the DMV in Glen Burnie waiting to renew my driver's license on a day a lot of my fellow Marylanders had the same idea. While waiting - especially without a book to read - can be difficult, I left with a smile on my face. The DMV employees I dealt with - getting my number, answering questions and finally getting my license - could not have been more pleasant, helpful or friendly. Bravo Maryland state employees! Want a shorter wait?

Thomas Schaller make a case for how the private sector can be just as if not more flawed than the public sector ("Sure, government is flawed - but markets are too," May 16). One aspect of the comparison that he (perhaps intentionally?) failed to mention, however, is that in the private sector, dissatisfied customers always have the option of switching to a different vendor, bank, insurance carrier, etc. That's not the case with any government agency. That is where the private sector excels over the public sector.

I take exception to Thomas Schaller's assertion that "Overhead in federal insurance programs like Medicare and Social Security is minimal. By some estimates, only 2 percent of expenditures go to administrative overhead" ("Sure, government is flawed - but markets are too," May 16). My wife formerly worked in the Social Security Administration, and she says Mr. Schaller's arguments are way off the mark. "By some estimates?" How vague is that? Why doesn't The Sun require the learned professor to cite his sources?

I agree with Thomas F. Schaller that there is waste and imperfection in the marketplace as well as government ("Sure, government is flawed - but markets are, too," May 16), but the pivotal difference is choice. I maintain the option to purchase goods and services from competing entities in the marketplace. If I do not agree with the business practices of a certain company, a competitor will get my money. In order to increase revenue, a company must produce enough quality to elicit demand.

Pfc. Bradley Manning is accused of leaking the largest document dump in U.S. history to Wikileaks, including the Iraq and Afghan war logs as well as the infamous "Collateral Murder" video depicting an Apache helicopter attack on Reuters journalists. Mr. Manning faces 23 different charges including one of "aiding the enemy," and if convicted he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Thus far, Mr. Manning's case has not been given the attention it deserves. The government's treatment of Mr. Manning, both during his pre-trial confinement and in the court room, has been appalling, and the American people need to hear about it. Mr. Manning will be in Ft. Meade on June 6th for his next pre-trial hearing.

I want to thank Ms. Nina Platt of Homeland for providing me with a copy of her outrageous water bill - and her neighbor's - because, until this happened, I was feeling left out of the Great Baltimore Water Bill Commiseration. It seems like everybody in the city but me has a goofy and outrageous water bill to brag and gripe about. My bill looks normal, boring and puny compared to what I see here: $813.75 due by May 29 for Ms. Platt, who lives alone, and $1,219.06 for the family of four next door.

Would someone please tell Gov.Martin O'Malleythat I'm already sharing the wealth - with the federal government. Leonard Magsamen, Nottingham

In her article ("Criticism of O'Donnell misses the mark," Sept. 21) Janet Rosenbaum misses the whole reason why many Bible believing Christians aren't in favor of increasing the welfare state. We see the government as a bloated United Way where so many of our tax dollars go to administrative and bureaucratic costs. As Christians, we are called to care for the poor and we prefer to do so by giving directly to organizations that really make a difference in people's lives. Research has shown that conservatives on a whole give more to charity than liberals.

While Doug O'Neill has been able to enjoy everything Baltimore has to offer during the past week and a half, his time in town hasn't been devoid of controversy. The trainer of Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another has been accused of “milkshaking” his horses -- giving them an illegal mixture that makes them feel less tired -- four times in his career. His record has been the center of some attention on O'Neill this week, who said he will answer questions in greater detail once the Triple Crown ends and California racing officials, who have yet to announce their ruling on a 2010 incident (the most recent)

This column may stress you out. It stressed me out just writing it. Start counting on your fingers how many of the following aggravations you have encountered personally. Ready? •You call a customer line to report a problem with some product or service, and after being forced to navigate through a multi-stage menu of options, you finally get a live person - who, unfortunately, seems capable of responding to only small set of basic requests. •You file an insurance claim, but the paperwork and documentation required to get the claim paid seem intentionally convoluted so as to deter you from ever collecting.