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Tuesday, October 14, 2014

State Comptroller on Maryland Economy

Democratic Comptroller Peter Franchot Regarding Updated Revenue Estimates

Excerpts:

Far more important than what a $405 million shortfall means for the state budget is the painful reality that it indicates for the budgets of Maryland families and small businesses.

Six years removed from the economic collapse, and far too many families and small businesses are still waiting for the recovery they keep hearing about.

We can classify a year or two outside the ordinary as simply abnormal. But more than a half decade later, we need to accept that sluggish growth and challenging economic conditions have become our new normal.

Yet, another year has passed, and ordinary families and small businesses haven’t even recovered to where they were before the financial collapse, much less made up for the wages they’ve lost over the past six years. We need to recognize that hope is not an economic strategy.

Wages and salaries are essentially stagnant. Local, independent businesses are struggling to meet payroll, cover their costs and turn a profit. Working families have cut back their spending because they just don’t have the money, they’re scared of losing their jobs, or, in many cases, both.

The housing market has failed to rebound in a sustained and meaningful way, particularly with Maryland second worst in the nation in home foreclosure rates

Combined, these economic indicators led to a Maryland economy that didn’t grow at all last year – with a 0 percent GDP growth for 2013. As we know, an economy that isn’t growing is actually retracting. This all means uncertainty for families and businesses. They are unsure about their prospects and, as a result, unwilling to make the purchases and investments our consumer-driven economy needs to grow.

We simply can’t assume that we’re around the corner from returning to the way it was, and back to the decisions we could afford to make in Maryland as a result. The fact remains that we’ll only see the economic growth we’re accustomed to when we get the private sector economy growing. We can only make that happen if we provide a sense of predictability for Maryland families and small businesses.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

He's a traitor to the left because he tells the truth.

See, ideology is great but reality should trump all. This man gets it. Most liberal Marylanders do not.

Mark my words they will vote for Brown.

Anonymous said...

And yet he wants to raise property taxes 67%? Go figure!

Anonymous said...

Our economy will never grow until they stop taxing and feeing us into poverty. Don't any of them see the connection between these two events? How can citizens spend money in the state's economy when the state has taken the major share of what they have to spend? We are over-taxed, over-regulated, and over-legislated!!!!

Anonymous said...

LT. GOV. BROWN is not the answer.

Anonymous said...

Every year, they raise taxes and "balance" the budget. Then we see a revenue shortfall, and they need to raise taxes again.

Either our economists at the state level are incompetent, or we're being pushed into the Hegeleian Dialectric - Create a problem, get the public/legislature to react, and then propose a solution that fits your agenda.