A Tale of Incentives: Baltimore vs. DC

 

We live in suburban Maryland, sandwiched between Baltimore and Washington D.C. During pre-COVID, “normal” times, we absolutely love it here, despite everyone’s hate of “The Swamp.” It’s a great place to raise kids, between the outdoors options, the historical offerings from Mt. Vernon to the National Mall, to the museums ranging in focus from natural history to Air & Space to art to African American history and culture. Both Washington and Baltimore have great zoos and cultural offerings and under normal circumstances, we have a wealth of opportunities for midweek and weekend programming and visits.

And yet, during the last months, we’ve only been able to partake in the offerings in one city: Baltimore. The Baltimore zoo, aquarium, children’s museum, and B&O Railroad Museum are all open for business, while all of the offerings in DC, like the National Zoo and all of the Smithsonians, are closed and have been for most of the last twelve months.

Why? It’s a matter of incentives. The museums and institutions in Baltimore are all privately funded, and those in D.C. rely on public federal cash. As such, there is absolutely no reason for the Smithsonian-affiliated institutions to figure out how to open safely, despite the fact that similar institutions just a short distance away in Baltimore have done so for months. It’s the same story with private vs. public schools; when you pay people and give a choice between doing their job in-person or from the comfort of their home, the majority will choose the latter.

What’s particularly frustrating is the hostage situation we’re all subjected to with these publicly-funded institutions; we’re still expected to pay federal and local property taxes for services we’re being denied. Living in this area and making our way into the second year of senseless closures is doubly insulting; we have had absolutely no access to any of the publicly-funded services that attracted us to this area in the first place.

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  1. Dominique Prynne Member
    Dominique Prynne
    @DominiquePrynne

    Bethany Mandel: What’s particularly frustrating is the hostage situation we’re all subjected to with these publicly-funded institutions;

    Yes!!!  I have paid full college tuition to a state research university for my son to sit in his apartment in front of a computer to learn engineering for the last 3 semsters!  The labs are online with the TA doing the lab and the students watching the feed.  It is disgusting!

    In my job, I work with representatives of the VA, caseworkers for state Medicaid agencies and the social security administration. They are all “working from home” for the last year.  It is insane!  Everything is taking longer and if you complain, you get the Covid excuse, and if you complain again, you get the shrug and are told to basically shut up and take it.

    The biggest cheerleaders in my area for continued lockdown/mask wearing etc are largely people who get paychecks regardless.  A federal judge’s wife in town is particularly obnoxious about it.  But her spouse gets paid no matter what and her health insurance remains in effect no matter what so she orders her groceries online and preaches to the rest of us how our freedom of movement is going to kill grandma.

    The private sector has found ways to carry on.

    It must be nice to be part of the government leisure class.

    • #1
  2. Retail Lawyer Member
    Retail Lawyer
    @RetailLawyer

    Public institutions are not answerable to anyone except their employees, who seem quite content to serve no one.  In theory they are, but it appears attenuated.  What are you going to do, write your congress person?  I’m certain mine could care less.  She is safe, doesn’t have to campaign or meet with constituents or in any way be responsive other than to insult me.  

    • #2
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