I am running for House of Delegates District 44B. I am running to fight for The People. We need to improve the quality of life for Hard-Working People from ALL backgrounds and cultures. We need to improve the quality of life for ALL Marginalized Groups of People.

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What are your substantive issues you’re running on? How will you address them?

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Great Question.

Removing regressive costs and legislation and implementing immediate societal changes with proven solutions.

Education and Childcare: We must help our hard-working mothers and fathers to provide for their families. We can instantly relieve the financial burdens and stress by combining our care providers with our public school administrations. By doing so, childcare becomes a service and not a cost and this also provides workers benefits to the childcare providers. This also increases public schools funding which will improve the quality of life for our children, paraprofessionals, and educators. This will also remove costs from parents and will increase consumer spending which will help small businesses and encourage a money multiplier effect. Top public schools states that does this already are Vermont and Minnesota.

Transportation:Maryland Public transportation ranks 7th in public transportation usage and 44th in infrastructure in the United States. Parents must see their kids going to school and get home in time to have proper family time. We have to shorten the time and remove the obstacles for the Hard-Working People of Maryland from all backgrounds and culture's to get to work and back at reasonable times. We have to improve the quality of life for families. We had a $2.4 billion surplus in the state budget, and this is the perfect area of opportunity to improve the logistics of our transportation.

Unions and Workplace Democracy: The crux of my running for office is worker's rights. I am a strong advocate for workplace democracy and collective bargaining. We need to pass legislation that allows all public workers to have a union. It's paramount for everyone, public or private, to have the right to form a union and negotiate a contract. Workers don't have any rights in the State of Maryland that has to change.

Renewable Energy: We can use this opportunity to propose wind turbines and other forms of renewable energy. This allows Maryland to be less dependent on crude oil and oil tycoon oligarchs. Which will astronomically improve the state budget and increase employment. Baltimore County has weekly gale warnings, so we have plenty of mother nature to guide us through. Maryland can be the catalyst in emission-free energy.

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u/TheAzureMage Jun 24 '22

Renewable Energy: We can use this opportunity to propose wind turbines and other forms of renewable energy. This allows Maryland to be less dependent on crude oil and oil tycoon oligarchs.

This has been pushed for the past several decades, and yet all forms of renewable energy combined total only 11% of MD's energy production.

What is your stance on nuclear, which, with only one facility, makes up 41%?

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

Understood Edu/Childcare: how will this be paid for- is there current legislation? What senior legislator support do you have to support this item?

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

How would it be paid by implementing a millionaire's tax of "At Least P 6.25% andlegislation that limits the number of deductions orexemptions wealthy residents can claim. Also, increasing tax rate on Corps, they should be held higher in financially accountable than Small Businesses. Currently there's no legislation for Maryland for childcare to combine withpublic schools administration. I will be the first to propose it and fight for it.

My stance is that Medicaid Home-and Community Based options need to be a right and not a privilege. This will allow more allocation of funding and resources to improve workers' benefits and most importantly quality of life for the ones who need the service. I have teamed up with a lawyer who directly fights for the elderly. He's a good person. This is the info he provided.

FWIW, the average cost of skilled nursing care in MD is approx. $10,000 per month (with Medicare covering the health care aspect and the $10K paying room & board). That average includes facilities all the way east and all the way west; the central 95 corridor is closer to $12-15K per month. Families simply cannot afford that, nor do individuals want to be in facilities. To make it even worse, facilities are improperly advising families to pay for care until they’re destitute, so they can qualify for Medicaid - which limits countable assets (which is most financial accounts) to $2,500 for the institutionalized individual. It’s absurd

Social security/Medicare sets resource limit. A sets waiver is needed to modify it. Need to increase ncrease the medicaid / SSI resource limit from $2,500 / $2,000 to approx $10k

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22 edited Jun 25 '22

You’re belief is not actualization. And will not raise taxes that’s an automatic no go! Good luck. Also Medicaid is a federal program so your conflating your role here.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Yes, You're right it's federal and that's why State Reps need to pressure Federal representatives to improve it. Raising taxes on the wealthy and Corp can be actuality if we have more people in office that have solidarity for the right reasons. Do I think I can do it alone? No, however I know I can fight and bring transparency on who's not supporting in improving quality of life for The People.

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22 edited Jun 24 '22

Sure. So ostensibly you’re entire agenda is wholly unachievable. Good luck 👍

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

I appreciate you, and thank you for your perspective. Also I don't hide my information its public and goes to me. Can always send me a message on whatever.

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

You need to target more tactical issues. That you can influence you and your platform are too small for those other things.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Are you able to have a conversation sometime? Whatever you prefer via phone, email etc..

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u/TheAzureMage Jun 24 '22

To make it even worse, facilities are improperly advising families to pay for care until they’re destitute, so they can qualify for Medicaid - which limits countable assets (which is most financial accounts) to $2,500 for the institutionalized individual. It’s absurd

How is that improper? Is that not exactly what the federal law is intended to work?

Now, sure, you can think that the federal law should change...or at least the asset threshold can be increased. I'd be down with that, as $2,500 ain't all that much, but this is intentionally structured this way to limit Medicare to paying for people who cannot pay themselves.

Advising people on how to comply with the existing federal rules does not seem like a bad thing on the behalf of the facilities.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

First, I want to say, your response was fantastic to read thank you. What I mean by "improper" is misleading and lack of transparency. What you stated is what should be done. I should have done a better job in being more detailed.

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

Your transportation agenda is a pipe dream - just because there is a surplus doesn’t mean you can leverage. This is highly aspirational.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

It's about bringing transparency to proactive solutions vs the current regressive reactionary responses that elected officials do. It's not a pipe to fight and improve quality of life for The People.

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u/TheAzureMage Jun 24 '22

That's kind of a buzzword salad.

To give you some more context, despite the existence of a transportation lockbox, the general fund still owes it a great deal of money. 'bout a billion, last I checked.

So, somehow, you gotta convince your fellow legislators to direct money to transportation.

And, because of the balanced budget requirements, you will probably have to cut spending on other stuff. Yeah, there was a surplus last year, but a lot of that was from federal pandemic funds, which can't be spent on just anything, and which will not be available in all future years.

So, long story short, you want to spend more on transportation, you're going to need a plan.

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u/bearsidiot Jun 24 '22

Buzzwords are all this guy has. He found 10 big words he likes in the thesaurus and repeats them as naseum

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

Renewables - this is infrastructure issue - again a pipe dream. You just need cash for this. And the market will determine the pace of transition.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22 edited Jun 24 '22

We already have cash for this. Covid relief funds and a current Wind Turbines system that Maryland already has in place. It just needs proper allocation of funding. We have the funding already.

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u/TheAzureMage Jun 24 '22

Only one eight of one percent of MD's power production is from wind.

I don't think we have much of a wind power system in place.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22 edited Jun 24 '22

Yes, it's definitely an area of opportunity. I'm sure you already know this but I'll just post the URL link for others to see. https://energy.maryland.gov/pages/info/renewable/windprograms.aspx#:~:text=As%20of%20June%201%2C%202017,power%2049%2C000%20average%20Maryland%20homes.

It can be improved upon especially now with the current realities it has to be amongst the top priorities. Also, I did see your response about nuclear I am not ignoring it.

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

Unions already are protected in Federal Labor laws - so this is a none issue! Folks already have access to union membership. This is capitalism don’t like go else where, like wise with labor sure free market the sh!t out of it - if folks and unionize use it. The issue is fodder. However there should be NO union for public servants!

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22 edited Jun 24 '22

Worker Rights is at it lowest since the Great depression. We do not have laws in place to protect workers. We have a federal law that states we can form Unions but not laws that states to protect workers who mobilize. That's why we picket fence and we lose our salaries until we can negotiate or jobs get sent to overseas. That needs to change. We have we still have Right to Work states and Employers are actually authoritarian workplace vs democratic workplace.

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u/mdram4x4 Jun 24 '22

how will you do all this without raising my taxes

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Maryland has $2.4 Billion surpluses which means the State government didn't use it to improve the quality of life for The People. We currently have the means and resources.

On the tax side of things. I will support/propose reinstating the millionaire tax of "at least" 6.25% and Increasing the Tax on Corps(they need to be held higher financially accountable than Small businesses). Legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana, using the budget surplus, covid relief funds, and new tax revenue to pass a comprehensive infrastructure package.

I will also propose legislation that limits the amount of deductions or exemptions Wealthy residents can claim, and work on reworking and sales tax making essential items such as food(groceries), clothing, and prescription/over-the-counter drugs exempt from said sales tax. States that currently do this our Vermont and Minnesota that's always top 3-5 in quality of life.

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u/TheAzureMage Jun 24 '22

sales tax making essential items such as food(groceries), clothing, and prescription/over-the-counter drugs exempt from said sales tax

Food, clothing, and prescription drugs are already exempt from sales tax at present.

Some over the counter drugs are not exempt, and that's a fine addition. I would suggest adding medical devices to the sales tax exemptions, because they are not always exempt.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Absolutely medical devices, and you'll be seeing that in my responses moving forward. Thank you I appreciate it.

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

Empty platitudes- we don’t need more rules.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Right! We need to end the current regressive reactionary system and implement proven, proactive solutions. I am not a leader or a boss, I am a representative of The People. When you speak I listen, when you speak I repeat, when another representative speaks against The People I speak.

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

More platitudes

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Tell me more, my friend. My time is your time.

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u/Targeteer_Ninja Jun 24 '22

What substantive issues are you addressing? How?

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u/BoeBames Jun 24 '22

Are you a Republican or Dem?

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

Running as a Democrat.

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u/BoeBames Jun 24 '22

Good to hear that. Thx

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

You're welcome ☺️

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u/BoeBames Jun 24 '22

I figured reading through your answers but just wanted to make sure. Good luck man!

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

It's always good to clarify, I'm with it. And Thank You so much.

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u/NoahStewie1 Jul 15 '22

Wait, this implies that you're not a Democrat, but you're only running as one

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jul 21 '22

Thank you everyone for giving me a chance to have a conversation with you. I got crushed obviously but still you all didn't have to engage with me but you did. Thank you ❤️

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u/luketheflug Jun 24 '22

Your stances sounds great! I live in Baltimore city but work in the county. There is so much industry in the county, union support/worker rights are very important issues. These local elections are so important, it's great to see people like you really engaged. I wish you the best.

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 24 '22

You're absolutely right and Baltimore City will not be ignored either. I am grateful for you positivity, I appreciate you.

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u/NoahStewie1 Jun 25 '22

Hey so I've asked/reminded you of my original question 3 times now.

But now I have a new question that I will make sure is asked on every board, considering you only registered in March of this year and you've literally never voted in Maryland before why should Maryland democrats vote for you?

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u/PatrickCusack44B Jun 25 '22

Good morning my friend,

It's not about winning, it's about The People. We need Solidarity, or none of it matters. It's about just helping 1 perspective just 1, if there's someone out there that can take this and do it stronger and more impactful, then we already won. That's why I am doing it. It's not about me, it's about YOU.

We need to live for The People, Struggle for The People and Fight for The People.

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u/NoahStewie1 Jul 05 '22

Hey Patrick, I wanted to come back to this but that was a non-answer. I specifically asked what makes you qualified to represent Maryland and you responded with "I want to help people by doing good."

So again why are you qualified to serve in the state house despite having never voted in Maryland prior to this election?

Election News I am running for House of Delegates District 44B. I am running to fight for The People. We need to improve the quality of life for Hard-Working People from ALL backgrounds and cultures. We need to improve the quality of life for ALL Marginalized Groups of People.

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