Today, the Economic Policy Institute released a
report describing actions in state legislatures across the country that have
been detrimental to the ability of residents with moderate and low incomes to
earn a decent living. EPI describes how this policy agenda has been financed by
corporate interests and serves to drag down wages, lower labor standards, and
erode employee protections for union and nonunion workers alike.
Fortunately, many of the most harmful developments outlined
in the report - including laws restricting the minimum wage, removing regulations
on child labor, and imposing new limits on benefits for the unemployed – have
not taken place here. Rather, Maryland has enacted policies that improve the economic security of residents. These efforts include protecting
Marylanders from catastrophic health expenses by implementing
the Affordable Care Act and expanding
Medicaid as well as providing tax credits and job training for workers
through the state’s EITC
and EARN Program.
However, Maryland needs to continue to enact policies that
provide economic opportunity and overcome challenges to doing so. For example,
EPI’s report notes that corporate lobbies have successfully defeated efforts
to establish paid sick leave in cities and states across the country,
including Maryland. In the coming legislative session, state lawmakers have the
opportunity to enact paid sick leave as well as join
other states across the country in raising the minimum wage. In this regard, EPI’s report serves as a useful reminder
that the policies that provide security and opportunity for Maryland’s workers
must be protected from those that seek to undermine them and that citizens and
policymakers must continue to push for measures that help raise the living
standards of all Marylanders.
