My Vision For The Future of Maryland
The primary reason for my moving to Maryland in 2002 was for career and educational opportunities for myself, my wife and our daughter. I was interested also in the natural beauty of the State from the mountains in the west to the shores of Ocean City. Our choice to live in Baltimore County was a result of our research into educational opportunities for our daughter who earned an opportunity to spend her High School years at the Carver School for Arts and Technology.
The State of Maryland has a lot of history dating back to the pre-revolutionary period including the fact that Baltimore once served as the Nations Capital and the close proximity to our Nations' Capital, Washington, DC were also reasons for our move to Maryland. I have a strong interests in Early American History as well as keeping an eye and ear on the political shenanagins in the State of I reside in and Federal government.
Maryland's crab industry, Inner Harbor development and the natural shores of Ocean City have drawn millions of visitors and multiple-millions of tourist dollars to this State for many decades.
WHAT IS NEXT? WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF MARYLAND?
How will Maryland compete with other States for tourist dollars?
What is in the future for Maryland businesses?
Will Maryland lead or follow the rest of the country in popularity, growth and opportunities?
My opinion is that Maryland has stalled out.
Tourists are looking elsewhere for entertainment.
The Inner Harbor is losing its appeal as crime continues to be an issue. The Baltimore City leadership looks toward cutting officers from the payroll and the remaining police officers face severe changes to their pension program. Also in the Inner Harbor area, popular attractions such as the ESPN Zone choose to leave. With the high prices for parking and the increasing cost of doing business in Maryland, I am not surprised that the ESPN Zone has left, will they be the only one to leave?
Ocean City continues to draw many to the shore, but the increasing taxes on businesses and the higher sales tax on goods in Maryland brings to mind the question of, "How long will OC succeed?" I have heard from some frequent OC vacationers that the area is becoming, "Boring, too crowded and too expensive".
The appeal of Western Maryland draws many people who seek to get away from modern living. Camping, hunting, hiking and skiing in the winter attract many to the area. These are all available in neighboring states with less cost, less regulations and less restrictions to those who seek adventure.
Shoppers choose to avoid Maryland, including our own residents!
Maryland has a higher sales tax rate than that of each of our neighboring States. People will not come to Maryland to shop when they can find the same goods at home for less money.
Marylanders choose to travel to Pennsylvania to shop for clothing as they consider the "No Sales Tax" on clothing and lower gas prices as an incentive to shop away from home.
We don't need to look to deep to figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.
Here is my vision for Maryland's future.
Decrease the sales tax:
By reducing our State sales tax to match (or below by just one penny) our neighboring States' taxes and re-instituting 'Tax-Free' shopping days in Maryland, people will cross the border and begin to return our lost dollars to businesses in Maryland. Stores in Maryland will profit from the increased sales and create more jobs to handle the volume of clients. With the increasing sales dollars flowing into Maryland more tax dollars will be collected resulting in a net win for the State!
Decrease the cost of doing business through lower corporate taxes:
Large companies are an asset to Maryland citizens. They offer our residents job security and career opportunities. Securing commitments from existing Maryland companies to remain here, and drawing new businesses to Maryland is critical to achieving the goal of maintaining / adding job opportunities for our residents. Lowering the 'Cost of Doing Business' through lower corporate taxes will aid in our States retention and attraction of large companies.
Small businesses are owned and operated primarily by residents of Maryland and traditionally employ the greatest number of workers in the State. Assisting these businesses to succeed and grow through tax credits and incentives, an overhual of the licensing and regulatory systems of the State, and renewing 'Tax-Free' shopping in Maryland will make a great difference in the future of these entreprenures. Through the success of these businesses, our overall local and State economies will improve.
Increase Tourist Traffic in Maryland:
We must work toward a cleaner Maryland. Tourists do not come to Baltimores Inner Harbor (for example) to view the floating trash in the water, they come to see the ships docked there and attend the venues in the area. We must stop saying how proud we are of our State and begin prooving it! The first step in attracting new tourists is to clean up the State!
Create new events and attractions that will interest people to come to Maryland. The Inner Harbor and Ocean City are great places to visit, but they have become stagnant in what they have to offer. We must encourage entrepreneurs to look toward opening new businesses directed toward entertaining people and drawing tourists to the State.
As a Candidate for Delegate I have a vision for Maryland to become one of the top five States to locate a business in and a top ten vacation destination in the country.
As an Entrepreneur, I am currently assembling a team and working toward developing jobs in conjunction with developing a new entertainment venue designed to draw thousands of tourists to Maryland.