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‘Good Faith Just Isn’t Enough’: Baltimore Officials Propose Controversial Hiring Mandate
City Council President Jack Young (Courtesy: WBALTV 11)
Baltimore’s City Hall is mulling a controversial new mandate that, if passed, would require any business with a city contract of “at least $300,000 or any project that gets a city subsidy of at least $5 million to hire Baltimore City residents for at least 51 percent of new jobs,” WBALTV 11.
“In these tough economic times, good faith just isn’t good enough anymore,” said City Council President Jack Young.
Unsurprisingly, a few have questioned the constitutionality of a bill that forces (“requires”) Baltimore business owners to hire residents (as opposed to the best candidate for the job).
“We’re not trying to tie their hands or anything. All we’re saying is give back to Baltimore in the form of jobs,” Young told 11 News reporter Kate Amara. “I mean, we lead the state in the unemployment rate (at 10.2 percent).”’
Young noted that similar hiring programs in Boston and San Francisco have been met with some success.
Still, those “opposed to the proposals said they saddle jurisdictions with high administrative costs and act as a barrier to industries looking to relocate,” 11 TV notes.
Young disagrees.
“I don’t think it will block anyone from coming to Baltimore. It didn’t block anybody from coming to Boston, and it didn’t block anybody from going to Washington,” he said, adding that the proposal will get Baltimore “back to work and drive more tax dollars into the local economy.”
“It’s going to lead to other opportunities for other businesses, as well,” he said.
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Comments (80)
ForMyKidsVA
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 10:16amBasically, the mayor is asking businesses to inflate the number of employees needed for a job when the business bids on a contract. The extra employees will be given make work jobs and be kept out of the way of the competent people actually doing the work. The taxpayers foot the bill which will lead to the necessary increase in taxes to cover all the make work employees. Rinse, repeat until the city becomes Detroit.
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Jaycen
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 11:03amThat was my first thought.
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MSBrewer
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 11:40amSo the business owners get together and just don’t accept city contracts. Problem solved.
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truthnstuff
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:36pmSo true. Nothing more than a mandate to hire the unqualified and redistribute the working mans resources. They will eventually become candidates for SEIU.
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Lt_Scrounge
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 7:43pmWhat the “no real world experience” mayor fails to realize is that the difference between Boston and San Francisco are cities where people actually WANT to live. Baltimore is not. There are educated and /or trained workforces in both Boston and San Francisco. What is Baltimore known for? Violent crime, corrupt city officials, high taxes and poor schools that produce a particularly nasty form of welfare queens and street thugs. I would have to say that any company doing business in Baltimore should start inflating their bills to the city to offset the costs of this mandate.
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mikem1969
Posted on November 23, 2012 at 9:28amOne more nail in the coffin of best person for the job. Now they will be forced to hire unqualified people to fill positions. Time to boot out the local government of baltimore.
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Trail_Jumper
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 9:25am“I mean, we lead the state in the unemployment rate (at 10.2 percent).”’
And why is that…..dumb*ss……
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Jaycen
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 11:05amExactly. He’s admitting his leadership is incompetent but lacks the self-awareness to realize he’s responsible.
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armyofnibiru
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 1:55pmwhen the libs set up these rules that chase business out of their cities and towns,it’s not incompitence. thats the cover for these NWOers use to push agenda 21 without you noticeing,because your to busy wrangiling at the incompitence to see agenda slipping in under the radar.and this guy is only complaining because the out of towners don’t pay the local income taxes,money,money,money grubber.his policys killed all the local business now his only targets left are out of town companys,he didn’t kill yet,yet,yet. REMEMBER BENGHAZI
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TexPat
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 6:54amIdeas such as this always sound good. But once again it is the GOVERNMENT who will tell you, the business owner, who you can hire and fire. The GOVERNMENT will run your business NOT YOU. Our governments, federal, state and local have overgrown their usefulness. Time, actually passed time, to rein them in.
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Chuck Stein
Posted on November 23, 2012 at 3:21amIt is plainly unconstitutional. It violates the “dormant commerce clause.” The constitutional convention was convened to address trade wars being waged between the states. Congress was given the authority to regulate commerce. The “dormant commerce clause” is the implicit limitation on the power of the individual states to regulate interstate comerce. States have been trying to avoid the dormant commerce clause for centuries. Often it is agricultural goods (Florida vs. California on avacadoes, lots of states trying to promote their own dairy farms, etc.). Anyway, if Baltimore’s limitation on interstae commerce stands, then the floodgates that have been closed since 1787 will have opened again.
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deltaecho
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 1:56amYou must hire the incompetent, lazy, couldn’t give a shjt non-workers. The lesser people.
Really – it’ll be fine. Trust me, won’t you?
There won’t be any unintended consequences, will there?
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johnpaulkuchtajr
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 6:50amI never left anything in Baltimore that I have to go back to get; and, I sure wouldn’t feel real good going
up in an elevator constructed by “mandated” workers!
“Remember Benghazi”
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jadams1214
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 8:14amIf you don’t want to play by the city’s rules don’t do business with the city. If i hire a contractor and tell him no illegal aliens would you people complain.
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term limits for congress
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 10:42amaffirmative action
I bet most of baltimore’s police/fire/sanitation workers live outside the city, too.
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armyofnibiru
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 2:05pmHAY JA,you don’t see the difference between some one here illegaly and the lazy citizens of baltimore,well if you hire a baltimorian a 2 day job will take a month and have cost over runs.but the illegal will be done 1 day and under budget.and in maryland if you tape a cop beating and then shoot and kill him on the ground while 3 officers hold him down.you’ll be in jail for longer than the officer.
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charles116
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:23amBut Mayor, BAIN prefers CHINESE workers – still IN China
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The-Monk
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:32amHi Dora,
Why did you change your name to Charles116?
Inquiring minds want to know…..
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bry
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 7:53amElections over. the lies have it.
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Tromboni
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:12amThis is Baltimore fro ya–
Try living in Baltimore….one out of every ten residents is a drug abuser. We have one of the highest homicide rates in the nation for a city this size. We have as many illegal aliens living here as there are “pipples” living in Tijuana. You can’t find many…if any…top notch restaurants. Driving across town is cruising through one continuous pothole. Even the rats here are double the size of the average cat and walk around in the daytime looking for handouts. The natives here don’t speak english…its some dialect called Bawl-mer-reez. Every sentence is punctuated with the word “Hon”. The city’s motto is “hands up!!…or I’ll shoot!” It ain’t the land of pleasant living since the entire city and state is controlled by liberals. Baltimore is a place you drive around instead of through cause if you drive through you might just end up swimming with the fishes in the Baltimore harbor. Vacation somewhere else if you know whats good fro ya!
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Scothantlas
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 12:29amAbsolute truth, every word of it. I grew up in Canton, that city is a hole. I have known plenty of friends and other people who were killed just because they were white. Black on White racism in that city is rampant and practically wide open. If you ever go to Maryland for vacation stay out of Baltimore. The only difference between Baltimore and Afghanistan is the gang colors!
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coldnorth
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 1:53amAh, Maryland, “The Free State”.
The most oppressive state I’ve ever lived in.
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old white guy
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 5:40amtromboni. it would seem this is what you get when you have dems in control. i should not be racisit but hey, the mayor is a black democrat.
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grayling646
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:45pmMaybe if they’d back off of the free lunch programs it would give people incentive to look for work. I’d say the a significant portion of those 10.2 percent unemployed aren’t even looking for work and wouldn’t take a job if you offered it to them.
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grayling646
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:47pm…I’d say ‘that’ a….
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twistin
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 11:12amThey’s no jobs, cuz the $ done up and leff long long time ago friend. This is now happening Nation-Wide. The Left calls it White Flight, the Right calls it “getting out of a war zone”. That’s why, before New Year, half the $ in this country will go somewhere else. I don’t really think anybody with money to invest is considering Baltimore, no matter how “fair” they are.
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Junter
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:36pmAs long as they don’t throw in any racial qualifier guidelines I think it’s a good idea. Want to do business with our city? Then hire locally.
Here in my city the majority of our city employees live in other cities. They bring their paychecks home to those cities and spend their money in those cities which hurts our local economy.
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termyt
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:47pmAbsolutely. Why spend precious time and money choosing where you live and who you hire when a better qualified bureaucrat will do it for you?
I mean, liberty requires way too much effort. Just let the government chose where I live and what I do for me. Much easier then.
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Junter
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 3:26pmHuh? You choose where you live, but don’t expect a city job if you live two cities away. It creates a sense of community and boosts the local economy having employees live and work in a given city.
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termyt
Posted on November 23, 2012 at 8:54amYou are correct. Why would I want the best qualified civil engineer building bridges for less money in my city when I can pay the guy who lives next door who graduated bottom of his class 50% more simply because he lives in the city? Competition and free markets never helped anyone – protectionism and nepotism are the way to prosperity.
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lel2007
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:33pmGovernment is so smart, we should look to it to solve more of our problems.
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DZ-015
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:15pmCity Council President Jack Young is “Balmer bananas”.
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TJexcite
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:09pmIt will be fun when they get to the part that the employer has to verify by law with some “e-verify” computer system that your employees live in the city but, can’t ask if your potential employees if they are legal to be in and to work in the country with some “e-verify” computer system or that would be racist.
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llotus
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:07pmAnd I guess they will want to choose the employees for those buisness`. That sounds like it might be some of that agenda 21. Or extortion. Maybe a little of both. Mostly just a shakedown. Lotus.
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Blue Anchor Gun Nut
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:55pmIs that thunder I here? Is that the sound of companies rushing to Baltimore. I am sure that many corporations feel that they are not up to the task and need the city council of Baltimore to run their companies.
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Dushman Kush
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:53pmGive back? Whenever I hear that expression……
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Silverbelle
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:48pmWhat else could you expect from Baltimore politicos…. This is Nancy Pelosi’s home and her family and the Baltimore machine for years and years
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Silverbelle
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:53pm**ran the Baltimore political machine for years. That is why Gov Martin O’Malley is getting so much attention.
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WINNEBAGOMAN
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:29pmMany county and municipal government jobs (fire fighter, cops, highway worker, garbage man, etc.) have residence requirments for their employment.
I consider myself to be a libertarian, but I also believe that a community, large or small, has the right to say, we want the folks who have salaries the tax-payers pay, live and contribute taxes in that community.
This is a little different, though. This isn’t necessarily tax-payer paid jobs, per se. If there is a project, that is slated to take 2 years to complete (random number, just for an example) I don’t see how the city could require a company that had employees for 15-20 years lose out on their spots, just to hire an unproven, possibly un-trained person just because they are local.
This is an interesting one. I’ll have to think about it some more.
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AnotherPaulian
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:45pmThe thing is, if I’m reading this correctly, that it’s not simply referring to public/city jobs like the fire department, police, etc. It is including private businesses that have project contracts with the city. A government should never be able to dictate to a private business who they can/can’t hire.
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TheBurningTruth
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:50pmInteresting… So the next logical step is to “require” pensioned retirees to live in the state that their pension is paid from. If your pension is paid by, say, New York, then you can’t leave New York and receive your pension because you’re taking those taxpayer paid dollars out of state.
Then when states get into financial trouble trying to pay all those public pensions, the pensioners couldn’t run out of state to avoid the taxes needed to pay those very pensions.
I think we’re on to something here…
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WINNEBAGOMAN
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:31pm@ANOTHERPUALIAN: Read my entire post before you answer. I asked the same question.
@THEBURNINGTRUTH: You also need to read my entire post. This isn’t something new (residency requirements). Just extending them to jobs not direct-hire for government is the novelty. No state has ever proposed, to my knowledge, to stop paying a pensioners pension if he/she moved out of state. Many, many people, as you might know, move to FL when they retire to avaid the state income taxes. This has been going on for decades. FL doesn’t mind, and no state has even tried to muddy that water. Unless you’re being ironic, you’re off base.
Either way – Happy Thanksgiving to both of you. God bless!
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Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:28pmAnd Again,Democrats KILL new business.
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grayling646
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:26pmWith this type of leadership I’m assuming Baltimore is headed down the same path as Detroit and Atlanta?
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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:06pmMore corruption, more regulation, more control over businesses, and more mess from government.
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Jenny Lind
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:18pmYep, in short, he’s dreaming!
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henryKnox
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:49pmThe first thing I thought of was the requirement by 3rd world countries to hire a set percentage of locals if you relocate a business to that country. We have without a doubt decided to follow the 3rd world example in our ‘new’ government model. You would have thought that it would have been the opposite, but the world does seem upside down these days.
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The Giver
Posted on November 22, 2012 at 1:35amIt’s the progressive way. They will try to force compliance of job eliminating measures. Either he is clueless or he wants businesses to not come to his city so more folks will go on government programs.
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Ragnars Repos
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:59pm“We’re not trying to tie their hands or anything. All we’re saying is give back to Baltimore in the form of jobs,” Young told 11 News reporter Kate Amara. “I mean, we lead the state in the unemployment rate (at 10.2 percent).”’
There is so much insanity in this one statement that this man should be forced to undergo psychological treatment. I mean, since we’re going the force and coercion route.
“We’re not trying to tie their hands or anything.”
Really? You’re not? “These are not the droids you are looking for.”
“give back to Baltimore”
Um…did the businesses steal something from Baltimore? If you believe they did, shouldn’t you begin an investigation?
“in the form of jobs”
To “give back” jobs you must first have something to sell and someone to sell it to, see? You don’t see, do you?
“we lead the state in unemployment”
Ahem…Geez, I just can’t imagine why that is, Mr. Young.
/sarc
Wake me when it’s over, America.
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jlfonz
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:48pmIt would probably be more productive to pay that 51% to stay home. Obama thinks so.
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REVerse
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:47pmWho is John Gault?
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Ragnars Repos
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:01pmThis guy: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/man.html
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Canyouhearus
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 10:28pmPrecisely! When will Atlas Shrug? It’s past time!
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BlackCrow
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:40pmVery easy. Don’t bid on Baltimore City contracts. Or be prepared to hire 51 uneducated do nothings for every 49 skilled workers.When the city figures out their RFP’s go unanswered then they might get the idea, but I doubt it.
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txn4justice
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 11:37pmDystopia, see Detroit.
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ChuckJ
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:39pmThere is your big govt. at work.
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love the kids
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:37pmHow is that fair if the city is receiving any state or federal money? If they get a grant to install bike paths, that money comes from residents all over the state or country, then you tell people that their tax money MUST go to residents that live in the city? Sounds very unconstutional to me, so I guess the supreme court will uphold the challenge
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1TrueOne55
Posted on November 21, 2012 at 9:49pmYou notice that when asked how well it worked he is less confident. What this does is hire people that won’t work hard but just enough to collect their paycheck. There will be now responsibility for the work they do since they will pass that off onto an inspector. They called it in the 70′s Affirmative Action, they have even gone so far as to require X minority contractors on projects so the big corporation finds the necessary skin color required for the mandate then puts them in charge of a part of the project that if any part fails will be that minority’s fault. That’s why these things always go wrong just look at the Boston’s BIG DIG project it became unwieldy and over expensive before it was finished.
And then look at the city that is having the issue. Come on lets not go there now.
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