Good evening, I’m Frank McCabe, Chairman of the Calvert County Republican Central Committee. Thanks to the League of Women Voters for conducting this forum, and thanks to our legislative delegation for taking the time to be here. It is much appreciated.

The end of the election marks the beginning of a major challenge for the southern Maryland delegation and the entire General Assembly. Approximately 216,000 Marylanders are out of work, and Maryland was one of only two states to see a statistically significant increase in unemployment in September.

There is no more pressing problem facing our county and our state than putting people back to work. When people aren’t working, they aren’t paying taxes, and with $1.2 billion in federal dollars no longer available to bail out the state budget, and high-income earners leaving the state for greener pastures, we can’t avoid the hard decisions any longer.

Raising taxes is always the knee jerk reaction of this legislature, but revenues have declined, not increased since the largest tax increase in Maryland history in 2007. IRS data shows that 85,000 people and $4.5 billion in income left Maryland for other states over a five year period. The state lost $1 billion in income and lost $257 million in tax revenue due to the millionaire tax alone.

State budget analysts last week predicted a budget deficit of $1.6 billion when the General Assembly meets in January. By any measure, we are out of money.

We implore our delegation to learn from our neighbor to the west, Virginia, where revenue has increased in seven out of eight months this year when compared to last year. In addition, they are second only to Texas in the number of net new jobs created since 2009. These successes are due to Virginia’s laser-like focus on creating an environment where small businesses can take risks and grow, and create new jobs in the process.

Maryland says it wants jobs, but it continues to burden the job creators. We need to remove the uncertainty small businesses in Maryland feel because of the constant threat of new and higher taxes and increased regulations. Token gestures like tax credits for small businesses that hire new workers aren’t enough. Our entrepreneurs don’t hire people for tax credits; they hire people when there’s work to be done.

The governor promised not to raise taxes in his budget, but talk of gasoline and liquor taxes is already in the air, and these taxes will especially hurt the everyday Marylander. The 61 percent of Calvert County residents who commute to work every day would feel the impact of higher gasoline taxes more than most.

The voters of Calvert County said enough is enough, and they responded to the state’s lack of fiscal discipline and its anti-business policies by decisively returning House minority leader Tony O’Donnell to Annapolis, electing Mark Fisher to join him in the House of Delegates, and expanding the number of Republicans on the Board of County Commissioners.

Don’t let that message go unheeded when you return to Annapolis in January. People need jobs. Those who are out of work and their families are counting on you to represent them and them alone.