Why Do We Run For Office?
I want to make it perfectly clear that I personally believe that most people who enter public office do so out of a true love for their community. There are issues that they are passionate about. As a result, they seek public office intending to address those concerns by initiating meaningful changes. For me, it is no different. One of the main issues necessitating my involvement is over-spending. The simple fact is that as a state, we will be requiring our children and grandchildren to shoulder the burden of our excessive spending. That is unacceptable.
The Issues
When we discuss the issues, there are a couple of things that we must always keep in mind. Nothing is absolute, and extremes in any direction are absurd. When we talk about cutting our spending, no one should be pulled into the idea that police officers, fire departments and the education system are the first to be affected. These are simply scare tactics they use to make the public think tax increases are all right. Tax increases are not acceptable, and there is plenty of waste in the Maryland Budget that can be eliminated long before we touch any of our infrastructure projects. We must insist on legislators that have the fortitude to send the budget back to the drawing board until taxes can be cut for the working citizens and spending is reduced to acceptable levels.
My top concerns for the coming years are:
Economy, Private Sector Jobs
Education Reform
Immigration in Maryland
Economy, Putting People Back To Work
We are in a recession. In times like these, we all must FIRST reduce our personal spending and adjust our habits to accommodate diminished incomes. In severe cases, families must resort to taping into resources that had been tucked away for the future. Government has the same responsibility.
Small Business is the engine of economic growth. According to the SBA, firms with fewer than 500 employees accounted for 64 percent (or 14.5 million) of the 22.5 million net new jobs (gains minus losses) between 1993 and the third quarter of 2008. The Maryland General Assembly treats small business like the goose who laid the golden egg. When legislators find themselves on a spending binge with our tax dollars, they look to small business to fill the chasm with the hard earned dollars of our business owners. Eventually these additional costs trickle down to the tax payer through higher cost of goods and services. High taxes and fees as well as overburdening regulation, contribute to businesses' inability to create new jobs. Business owners have had to funnel money that should be used to pay for new job creation into mandated higher unemployment taxes, corporate taxes and regulatory fees.
Maryland, in the coming years, will be faced with making some tough decisions regarding finances. This is due to fiscal irresponsibility demonstrated in previous sessions, as well as the enactment of anti-business legislation. These actions combined with an economic recession, have reduced our state’s tax revenue. Members of the General Assembly have continued to spend beyond the means of Maryland taxpayers. This was their year. The general assembly could have initiated comprehensive spending reform and told the special interests no. They could have been our heroes! They voted against the tax payers and in favor of the special interests by refusing to cut spending and continuing to fund their cronies in an over bloated budget. If they couldn't see their way to cut spending in this economy, while all of the taxpayers were reducing their own spending, they simply have no intention. The taxpayers will pay for the legislator's lack of discipline until we elect public servants willing to stand up for the citizens.
All budgetary cuts will come with some kind of repercussion. There will be groups that are dissatisfied because their organization will receive reduced levels of funding. We are simply at an unsustainable level of funding, and must cut spending. If we have any hope of taking responsibility for our future and allowing future generations to create their own path without assuming our financial obligations, we must first spend within our means.
Education Reform
Baltimore County deserves to have an elected School Board. The common denominator in student success rates is parental involvement, though many factors contribute to the final outcome. We must insist that parents have a say in their children’s education by holding decision makers accountable through the election process.
Baltimore County is one of the only counties in Maryland that continues to allow the governor to appoint the school board. With the very diverse socio-economic structures that exist throughout Baltimore County, we cannot rely on a cookie cutter system that requires all schools to operate within the same parameters. By giving schools some autonomy to operate in a manner that best supports their students, we can increase parental involvement and student's interest as well as increase graduation levels. There are several instances of these programs that are working in other communities such as New Orleans, LA. The educators there have taken some bold steps to create a better learning environment for their students. With great risk comes the possibility for great reward. We owe it to our children to look for bold solutions to help them succeed in the global marketplace, rather than use comparison scales from our own state or even our entire nation.
Immigration
Maryland is a sanctuary state. We have a large number of illegal aliens who impact our government services, in some estimates as much as $2 Billion annually. Amnesty is not the answer. There are many legal immigrants who have gone through the legal process in order to become citizens and contributing members of our society. As a third generation American ( my grandfather came through Ellis Island from Italy and my grandmother came from Germany), I understand the longing for the opportunity America provides, that of the God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Our borders must be secure. We must know who is in our country if we are to remain a sovereign nation. If there is a need for workers and the American citizens are unable or unwilling to fill the positions, it would be prudent for us to initiate a guest worker program that will not burden our government services that are paid for by the citizens. In addition, it is critical to document these workers, and fill the needs for our businesses. This will allow them to realize profits and continue growing our economy while pursuing new sustainable expansion.
I would likely sign a law similar to the Arizona Immigration Act, which creates a state initiative to reduce the number of illegal aliens by allowing local agencies to work in conjunction with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for verification. It is important to recognize that the Arizona law requires that all deportation of illegal aliens is still processed through ICE.
Pensions
When we look at the pension liability in the state of Maryland, one thing is clear, the pensions are at unsustainable rates. The solution will come from starting immediately to reduce the liability to tax payers by offering new-hire government employees a portable 401K plan, instead of a tax-payer funded pension. Though some have indicated a desire to cut the pensions for existing employees, we must not go back on promises that have already been made. Citizens have planned their future on the promises made by previous legislators. The citizens should not be made to bear the burden of previous legislators selfish lack of fiscal discipline. For those employees who have been hired in recent years, there should be a sliding scale of benefit awarded and the same portable 401K offered to compensate so they may rearrange their retirement plans accordingly. We must start to ensure that citizens are allowed to take personal responsibility for their future, if we are to right the fiscal ship of the state in order for future generations to prosper.
All The Rest
Term Limits? Yes, 2 terms, longevity breads corruption. If we cannot pass term limits for the General Assembly, I will self limit at 2 terms.
MOVE Act affecting Maryland's overseas military - The Move Act was Federal legislation passed in 2009, which mandated that states are required to furnish absentee ballots to deployed soldiers 45 days prior to an election to allow ample time for receipt and return of their votes. This year, Maryland applied for a waiver of this law siting a hardship because the primary and the general elections are only separated by 47 days.
While Maryland withdrew it's claim of hardship, thanks to the work of our citizens, it is imperative that we make sure the men and women fighting for the very freedom we hold so dear have their voice heard in our elections. The General Assembly could have easily changed the date of our primary during their last session to compensate for the 45 day law. Three other states took action to protect their soldier's votes. Maryland's General Assembly must make it a priority to make provisions to protect this very important right of citizenship for all of our soldiers abroad.
While these are the issues that I am most focused on, there are many issues that impact our daily lives. For specific issues that concern you, I encourage you to write and ask any questions you like. You can e-mail me directly at RaniMerryman@gmail.com.
The US Constitution in conjunction with the Maryland Constitution have set a road map for limited government, which allows the greatest amount of freedom any society has ever enjoyed. Government has outgrown reasonable constraints and has started to strangle the ability to achieve the American dream. The time has come for us to once again, ask for ourselves... “What is the role of government?” Before you vote, I encourage you to consider the beliefs of the candidates who want to represent you. Do they believe that government is the solution to our challenges, or do they believe that the solutions will come from the citizens of the great state of Maryland and these United States of America? I believe the people will make the difference! I believe in the American spirit, and the right to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. These are the ideals that have created the greatest nation in history and by returning to these fundamental principles, we will continue to be the example of freedom and prosperity for the rest of the world.
