Closing The Inequality Divide: A Strategy for Fostering Genuine Progress in Maryland

In 2009, with the economic crisis still ravaging the nation, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley put in place a bold new economic indicator, the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), to begin to assess more precisely what has gone right — and wrong — in his state’s economy. The GPI provides a much more holistic view of how the Maryland state economy is faring for all Maryland residents than the standard state economic measure, the Gross State Product. The Genuine Progress Indicator now in place in Maryland has income inequality as one of its 26 prime indicators. This study zeroes in on inequality, in the context of the GPI, to answer the question: How has inequality affected the overall economic, social, and environmental fabric of Maryland, and what can be done about it? This study compares the current Maryland income inequality situation with the income picture back in 1968, the year that saw the narrowest overall income inequality divide in modern U.S. history. The authors then pose the question: How different would our current GPI indicators be — what quality of life would Marylanders enjoy today — had we kept the level of Maryland inequality at 1968 levels? The paper ends with recommendations on how to close the inequality divide in Maryland.