Maryland: The Anti-Competitive State

Last month, economist Anirban Basu from the Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group addressed the Change Maryland Business Summit on Improving Maryland’s Economic Competitiveness. Basu went through a litany of Maryland tax and business policies that put the state at a competitive disadvantage with its neighbors.

Yet, the political class in Annapolis in unwilling to address the problem. “We are in a competitive part of the country, and yet we are not competitive.” Basu said. “Now you may ask the question why are we Marylanders not doing anything about it, because we are not desperate enough yet, we haven’t felt the pain yet.”

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 Basu said there is no sense of urgency in Annapolis because the data isn’t bad enough yet. Maryland’s economy is too reliant on federal spending, which has run massive deficits the last four years. While other states see those deficits as horrifying, “in Maryland” Basu said, “it’s just good business.”

Video courtesy of Video Democracy Films.