Lost in Maryland

Lost in Maryland

Maryland has many problems, some more profound than others. Recently, I participated in a meeting where a business person presented a very alarming example why she had to move her firm out of Maryland. She stated that her corporation attempted to get Maryland State contracts on a competitive basis and was told that she must have a certain representation of minority involvement or it would be a no go for her firm. Further discussions with other business people confirmed that embedded into Maryland State law preferences exist in contracting with the state government and its various jurisdictions. Discriminatory policy no doubt, unethical yes, yet acceptable to a government that is fully aware their intrinsic stance in this area teeters on unconstitutionality. Derived from similar meetings with those who own and or manage businesses it was obvious that Maryland state government and various jurisdictions hammer them with excessive taxes and mandates creating an onerous environment to find any profit centers. Employers have very few rights in the eyes of state government compared to workers who perform functions for them. Maryland laws burden businesses with creative legal structure which either forces preferences on them or makes it financially untenable to be within the confines of this state. Maryland has achieved the status of having a business unfriendly environment to the extreme. Five hundred CEOs when asked to rate states concerning business friendly environs Maryland was in the bottom third of their choices, with Texas at the top and California last. The irony is to fund wealth redistribution programs, the state must extort as much as they can from the private sector. The intrinsic contradiction here is Maryland is driving away the very source of income that runs its entitlement engine. No doubt most state citizens know that their top leaders are lawyers. These legal minds, in the majority, are not adept at managing complex systems. Yet election cycle after election cycle they are returned to office, as long as the gravy continues to flow to the indolent, lazy and undeserving. There will come a point, in the not too distant future, when revenues will not be able to keep up with demand for funds because Maryland consciously drove their revenue generating machines into more friendly states. Preferences, contractual relationships that discriminate, environmental mandates that only angels can achieve, an overreaching tax structure and laws that benefit politicians at the expense of its citizens are just a few of the reasons Maryland will destroy its own infrastructure. Those who come to Maryland with great hopes of achieving success will be disappointed because if you don’t pay the piper you will get lost in Maryland. Mark Davis, MD President of Healthnets Review Services platomd@gmail.com