New Report Shows Significant Decline In Business Confidence Under O’Malley Administration

ANNAPOLIS – The number of employers who describe Maryland as “pro business” has declined 58 percent since the 2nd quarter of 2006, according to a new report from the University of Baltimore’s Jacob France Institute. Bob Ehrlich, candidate for Governor, called the report a troubling reaffirmation that new leadership is needed in government if Maryland’s economy is to recover soon.

“By far the biggest concern I hear on the campaign trail is that job creators are either ignored or harassed by their government at a time when 211,000 Marylanders are unemployed,” said Ehrlich. “The Jacob France Institute’s survey underscores that the O’Malley Administration has little to no understanding of what it takes to lead an economic recovery in Maryland. Two months ago I released my Entrepreneur Agenda, which is a roadmap to restoring Maryland’s economy. My top priority will be to change the mindset in government so that families and small businesses are treated as a source of new jobs, not a source of new taxes.”

In October 2006 – the last publicly available survey – the Institute reported that 74% of Maryland businesses considered the state business-friendly or pro-business. This represented an all-time high in the Institute’s surveys and took place after nearly four years of Bob Ehrlich’s pro-jobs agenda. This week – after nearly four years of Governor O’Malley’s anti-jobs agenda – the Institute reported that 31% of employers rated Maryland as being pro-business or business friendly.

2006 survey: http://www.ubalt.edu/jfi/jfi/mbrp_bcs/BCS3rdqtr06.pdf
2010 survey: http://www.jacob-france-institute.org/documents/BCS-2010Q2.pdf