Nope, it’s not the NCAA draw. This is in response to the comment on my last post as I refine and extend my arguments. I started this as a comment and decided it was long enough to warrant a second post.
I used government as a growth “industry” because it’s truly an industry that can perpetuate itself like no other. Every new regulation, every new program, every new department means additional workers that work on the public dime. Maryland has the fortune of being close to the seat of federal government and benefits from many of the additional federal jobs that are created – it’s no coincidence that Maryland’s two largest counties populationwise abut the District of Columbia.
In turn, these two counties (Prince George’s and Montgomery) which are home to almost 1/3 of Maryland’s population vote reliably Democrat, and it seems like they feel the farther left Democrat the better. With the voting bloc just these two counties command in the General Assembly, combined with the large numbers in Baltimore City/County (which also are pretty heavily Democrat voters), they allow rule by a party that is known for being much more conducive to the interests of labor unions than the employers which make those unions possible – with the exception of employers that are governmental entities. In America today, the largest percentage of unionized labor is now in the government sector.
On the other hand, Michigan is far away from the seat of government so it depends on private sector employment for the most part, and its policies are chasing business away at a time when that state needs to be more business-friendly. Indeed, they also have a heavy union influence because of the UAW, and it was those Big Labor votes that placed Governor Granholm back in her chair. But by being so militant, the unions in Michigan are biting the hand that feeds them in a time when business of any sort needs to be welcome there.
The economy in much of the Midwest is struggling right now because of the heavy union influence. (That poor economy is the prime reason I live in Maryland now.) While workers should have the right to organize, they need to keep in mind that their employers also have to stay competitive in a global economy.
Let me take a moment and talk about the Eastern Shore in particular since you addressed us in your comment. Our three largest industries are poultry, agriculture, and tourism. In many ways, the interests of those Democrats who hail from PG/Montgomery are greatly at odds with the farmers who till the land and raise the chickens here, particularly regarding what effect the farms have on Chesapeake Bay. By many accounts, our previous Democrat governor treated Maryland’s farmers as a (barely) necessary evil.
Additionally, we have one fairly large tourism haven in Ocean City. The majority Democrats in Maryland have no problem advocating two items that will certainly hurt that portion of our local economy – a 50% jump in the gas tax and a 20% hike in the sales tax, with an expansion in its current scope already in the General Assembly hopper. (No bill to raise the sales tax is under consideration, at least for the moment.) Raising the gas tax might lead to a smaller number of trips across the Bay Bridge to our end of the state. The only compelling interest Eastern Shore residents might have with the additional bite each time we fill up is whether we can get another bay crossing to help alleviate weekend congestion. But it’s more likely that the extra money will either go into the general fund or pay for more mass transit around Baltimore and DC that’s not likely to be utilized anymore than it already isn’t. And jacking the sales tax up when we already have sales-tax free Delaware competing with our businesses is going to compel even more businesses to flee our part of the Eastern Shore. Drive up Route 13 into Delaware and see just how many big-ticket retailers like furniture stores and car dealers set up shop just across the line.
If I were to have a magic wand and suddenly have the power to make economic decisions that would assist the Eastern Shore economy I would first eliminate the sales tax entirely for the nine counties of the Eastern Shore. The hit on the state budget shouldn’t be that large since we’re only about 10% of the population and it’s still not going to be easy to drive over here from the Western Shore. The second thing I would do is work on a way to make our region a little more accessible to other parts of the country by improving Delmarva’s main north-south highway (U.S. 13) to expressway grade. It would make things easier for transportation and can provide an impetus for manufacturing and transport jobs to come to the Eastern Shore.
Obviously there’s a lot more that’s necessary than just these two items to create a thriving local economy but they’re two good-sized pieces of the puzzle if you ask me.
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