Montgomery County Executive and 35-year career politician Marc Elrich was out with stale talking points and more spin this Friday, Sept 8th, as he gave a recorded “Message from the County Executive”.
First, Elrich crowed on about the County’s “33 year low in unemployment numbers” and referenced the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics jobless rate for MoCo, which is sub-2%. But this number tells us little about the state of MoCo’s economy and labor pool / tax base. If there are only four filled jobs in a County, essentially no job growth, five retirees and six people no longer even looking for employment anymore in that area – congrats. You might have “record low unemployment.”
But do you actually have a growing jobs number in Montgomery County?
Using Elrich’s favorite source, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov) it would appear we do not (this was published in July 2023):
It would also appear that MoCo weekly wage earners are losing purchasing power… that is, we are working the same hours but for less real money / value:
But Elrich doens’t care about sky-high gasoline (once again) or the regressive MD gas tax. He’s got a planet to save with his MoCo “Green Bank”.
Also – this week saw the news break that longtime (10 year) Silver Spring area brewer Denizens Brewing Co. is leaving the County and just sticking with its Prince George’s County spot. Not directly Elrich’s fault, but this yet another food / beverage / brew business that just doesn’t want to grow in MoCo. They’ll find other opportunities in the state or elsewhere.
And then finally, as usual, the ridiculous crowing by the County (and Elrich) is that “Montgomery County has earned another Triple-A rating from all three rating agencies—Fitch, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s. Only about 50 out of 3,000 counties nationwide earn such high marks for fiscal prudence.”
But Fitch just down-graded U.S. sovereign debt (now at a sky-high $33 trillion)… and Standard & Poor’s admits that MoCo is fully reliant on the “institutional presence of the Federal government.” Yes, the Federal government that is headed to another $2 trillion fiscal deficit for the budget year and features a dysfunctional Congress unable to even balance a budget once over two-plus decades.
Laughably, the Fitch report on “triple A” bonds cited by Elrich contains this gem:
Fitch views the County’s financial resilience as superior, reflecting a combination of solid expenditure flexibility, demonstrated cost-cutting in response to weakened revenues and timely adjustments to revenue projections, which have resulted in consistent reserve levels through the economic cycle.
Demonstrated cost-cutting? When? And where? Certainly not in Elrich’s MoCo government. And the rational thought that has to be stated is this: if the MoCo economy is booming, if the financial news is all good, as Elrich spins it, then why did Elrich need to ever propose a near 10% property tax rate hike in FY 2024?
A “booming economy” with a growing jobs base necessitates higher property taxes? Don’t think so.
More to come.
