@mattvanswol This isn't new. We lived in Baltimore City in the 90's and the police rarely showed up at all. Also, the snow was plowed one time in 10 years.
My conspiracy theory started the summer of 2001 when I was working at a Walmart.
We got a large shipment of American flags and decorations at the END of July. The timing seemed odd, but I dutifully stocked the shelves.
September 12th, it all made sense.
My neighbor finished paying off her house in 2024.
She bought it in 1994 for $78,000. Thirty years of payments at $593 a month.
She's 74 now. Social Security pays her $1,910 a month. That's $22,920 a year.
The place two doors down sold for $615,000 last spring, so the county reassessed hers to match.
Her tax bill this year: $8,100. That's $675 a month.
She paid $593 a month to buy the house.
She pays $675 a month to keep it.
Thirty years of payments ended and the bill went up.
The deed says she owns it. The county bills her like she's renting.
Maryland squeezes its own people dry and still canโt deliver the basics.
Roads are crumbling... over half the major ones rated poor or mediocre. Congestion eats hours of your life. Fees and taxes keep climbing while Annapolis piles on more.
Then look at the two-tier system: a state senator hits a parked car, tells police he had โone drink,โ and they let another driver take the SUV without a real investigation. Regular Marylanders get tickets, cameras, and collections. Elite connected people get a pass.
This is not Washington. This is Annapolis. Local and state government failing at roads, enforcement, and basic competence.
Maryland deserves better.
Dear young people,
Work under the table if you can
Donโt use credit cards
Donโt buy insurance unless you HAVE to
You donโt have to go to the doctor unless you are sick or broken
Get oral care in Mexico
Buy silver with what you have left - trade it in for gold when you have enough
Read, watch, learn about history
Own the oldest Bible you can afford - and read it for fun
Spend as much time in nature as you can
Learn at least one skill - preferably one you enjoy
Itโs okay to complain about the state of the world, as you know it
Never - EVER trust your government