Hogan has set up Moore for success

Dan Rodricks welcomes our new governor with high marks and anticipation (“Dan Rodricks: Wes Moore delivers the inspiring speech we’ve been waiting to hear,” Jan. 19). He also acknowledges the perks and advantages that Gov. Wes Moore inherits including a surplus of several billion dollars and the highest median household income in the country. The population in Maryland during the last two administrations rose from 5.8 million to 6.16 million, and the state is number one in the U.S. in millionaires per capita, growing in eight years from 7.9% of Maryland households to now 9.72% (despite Florida’s weather and lack of income tax). On the minus side, our unemployment rate is 4.7% vs. the nation’s 3.5%.

Among the most important figures inherited by Governor Moore from the previous administration, which included the pandemic years, was the growth of 2,520 new businesses in Maryland to 17,1841 total, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Together with the population increase and household incomes this means the tax base for Maryland’s budget increases dramatically.

These numbers total up to an impressive base on which the new governor begins. And Larry Hogan has earned a prize, namely a cold drink and a palm tree.