Maryland's restaurants aren't going out of business fast enough, lawmakers in the state's capital of Annapolis say, and a pair of Democrats in the legislature have a plan to speed up the process. On top of previous hikes to the state's minimum wage, which have been a factor in many restaurant closures and staff reductions statewide, their new bill would create a 2026 ballot question asking voters to approve a minimum wage of $20-an-hour. If approved by voters, the question would also force restaurant owners to pay that $20 wage to tipped workers, as well. The bill is expected to be taken up by the Democrat-controlled Maryland House and Senate next month.

Montgomery County was the vanguard of the proletariat in the effort to raise the minimum wage in the previous decade. The Montgomery County Council was warned by business owners, the Maryland Retailers Association, and the Restaurant Association of Maryland that a significant wage increase would put many enterprises out of business. Their predictions came to pass, as Montgomery's already-moribund economy was slammed by the higher wage requirements, higher taxes and new regulations, and the Council's disastrous "Nighttime Economy" initiative that ended up destroying the nighttime economy. Bars, stores, and restaurants that had endured for thirty or fifty years, serving multiple generations of Montgomery County residents, were suddenly closing left and right.

The nightlife scene in Bethesda looks starkly different from what it was prior to the last decade. In fact, you can't really look at it at all, because it no longer exists. Along with record numbers of restaurant failures countywide, at least 24 nightspots closed in Bethesda alone. Downtown Bethesda's streets are now dark and lonesome after 9:00 PM.

Click here to read the full post from Robert Dyer.