Economy

The role of government is to “promote the general

welfare”

-- to foster an open and competitive marketplace and to

help us help ourselves in our pursuit:

INFLATION

Fuel and energy prices are a main contributor to today’s high inflation. At the national level, the Biden Administration cut off the Keystone Pipeline as soon as he took office which initiated the steady rise in the cost of energy. Likewise, the Democratic leadership in Maryland is pushing to make the state net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 (SB 528 Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022). This bill will likely contribute to higher energy costs here in Maryland. Maryland’s gas tax went up automatically by 6 ½ cents on July 1st because the tax is tied to inflation. That is an 18% increase when we are already feeling “the pain at the pump.” The Democratic leadership refused to allow a new “Gas Tax Holiday” or pause the automatic gas tax hike. They stated they could not give up the revenue that is needed for road improvements, even as Maryland posted a record-level $7.5 Billion surplus. I would support a “tax holiday” break from the state fuel tax and I would support decoupling the fuel tax from inflation.

BUDGET SURPLUS

The estimated surplus of $7.5 billion is 12.3% of the $61 billion FY23 budget. Since this money came from taxpayers, a significant portion should go back to taxpayers. Roughly $4.5 billion is from federal stimulas funds, but it is still from the taxpayers. A 3-month gas tax holiday is estimated to cost $300 million. We could easily afford to take a 6-month gas tax holiday. In addition, we should refund $500 to $1000 to each individual taxpayer. Assuming we have 4.2 million individual taxpayers, a $1000 refund to each taxpayer would return about $4.2 billion, leaving $2.7 billion for infrastructure and the Rainy Day fund.

HEALTH INSURANCE

SB 493 proposed a commission to formulate how to set up a government-run health care system for Maryland. History has proven that a government-run system will not provide the level of care we have now. Wait times will be longer, it will be more expensive overall because of the added bureaucracy, and the treatment options will likely be limited because bureaucrats will decide what treatments are available. Fortunately, this bill did not pass. But it will surely be back…

AGRICULTURE

District 27 remains mostly rural and I will work to ensure agriculture, agritourism, and aquaculture remain a competitive and prosperous industry.