Jobs, Tax Dollars at Risk While Baltimore Port Closed

Federal officials are not prepared to speculate on when the Port of Baltimore will be open again, but there is a financial urgency to open as soon as possible. The port is responsible for nearly $3.3 billion in personal wages and salaries, $2.6 billion in business revenue, and nearly $400 million in state and local tax revenue annually. That is roughly $1.09 million in tax revenue a day. And on an individual level, it comes down to personal paychecks. “With no cargo coming in or out—until they open the channel—there will be a point when they’ll completely close down the loading and unloading operation, which is pretty catastrophic for the members of the ILA who work on the waterfront,” Rich Krueger, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 953, told The Epoch Times....