By Jessica Haire
For the Baltimore Sun
If you are a parent like me, you’ve noticed your household costs going up in recent years. Whether it’s gas prices, groceries, electric bills or school supplies, everything is more expensive.
As I talk to friends around the state, I hear frustration with how costly it is to live in Maryland. It’s one of the reasons I ran for Anne Arundel County executive in 2022. And politicians in Annapolis have a seemingly endless list of “spending” priorities that do nothing to lower our cost of living.
There is a common understanding that you can’t tax your way into prosperity. That sentiment was first articulated over 100 years ago and it’s still true today. More recently, politicians have been known to say we can’t spend our way into prosperity either. Taxes and government spending go hand in hand, and in Maryland, we have a problem with both.
Common-sense policies can turn things around though, and that’s why I’m proud to announce the launch of Opportunity Maryland. We are a nonpartisan education and advocacy organization dedicated to making sure our elected officials are looking out for us when it comes to spending our tax dollars. We want to make Maryland a place where opportunities can flourish and our residents can thrive.
If you’ve paid attention to your paystub or cash register receipt in recent years, it won’t surprise you to learn that our state typically ranks in the mid-40s among all 50 states on matters of tax burdens, whether it’s business taxes, personal income tax rates or local taxes on hard-working Marylanders.
This past session, the state House had a plan to raise taxes, tolls and fees by $1.2 billion. It didn’t pass, but you can bet that proposal comes back — probably with a bigger price tag — next spring. The Washington Post has noted that, in Annapolis, it’s less about whether to raise taxes than when. And just recently, our comptroller warned that the state cannot meet its needs if revenues don’t keep up (read: more taxes and fees).
Which brings us to the second problem — runaway spending. Budgetary issues are often framed as a revenue problem, rather than considering whether spending is out of sync. Unfortunately, in Maryland, we’ve been sold too-good-to-be-true promises with no plan to pay for them, and now we’re staring down a long path of unfunded commitments.
At Opportunity Maryland, our mission is to bring transparency and accountability to these issues, advocating for policies that will allow our state to thrive without overburdening its citizens.
Our initiatives will focus on several key areas, such as encouraging entrepreneurship and investment by reducing the tax burden on businesses, creating favorable conditions to keep retirees in Maryland, investing in vocational education and training and leveraging public-private partnerships to enhance our state’s infrastructure. Additionally, we will advocate for fiscal responsibility to ensure our state’s finances are managed sustainably.
Our philosophy is simple: Robust economic growth leads to job creation, balanced budgets and a reduced need for tax increases. By advocating for practical and pragmatic policies, we aim to create an environment where businesses can grow and thrive and where residents can work and retire, enjoying the fruits of their labor without undue financial strain.
Let’s move toward a brighter, more prosperous future for our state. I invite all Marylanders to join us in this endeavor, working together to create a state where opportunities are abundant, and prosperity is within everyone’s reach. Let’s make Maryland a place where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
Jessica Haire is a former member of the Anne Arundel County Council and is chairwoman of Opportunity Maryland.