A Third Way

This morning I joined my regional counterparts, DC CFO Dr. Nat Gandhi and Virginia Finance Secretary Ric Brown for a regional policy forum sponsored by the Greater Washington Board of Trade. The forum convened area policymakers and business leaders to discuss collaborative and constructive ways to address our regional challenges and build our economy.

Our region is blessed with extraordinary economic benefits; however, we are not immune to the effects of this global recession and our businesses and citizens are undoubtedly feeling its effects.

The U.S. economy shed 125,000 jobs in June and the reported 9.5 percent unemployment rate is deceptively low because it doesn’t factor in the 1.2 million Americans who stopped searching, nor does it include those who are underemployed or living far below their customary standard of living. Pending home sales in the U.S. fell 30 percent in the month of May, despite low interest rates and a glut of bargain housing prices.

So where does this leave us?

1) There’s no such thing as a jobless recovery. 70% of our economy is based on consumer spending. Jobs are at the very heart of the American economy, and Maryland is no exception.

2) There’s no such thing as a government-sponsored economic recovery. While government stimuli can help prevent a total collapse, a real recovery occurs only when businesses are able to hire, investors and entrepreneurs are empowered to take risks, and consumers feel it’s safe to spend again…without the inducement of artificial government incentives.

Many on the right are pushing for draconian cuts to services we rely on like public safety, mental health and education. Many on the left are promoting new revenues through tax increases. Neither of these proposals will solve the problem.

What we need is a Third Way, a leaner and more innovative government where we operate more efficiently and get better services at a lower expense. This is how successful businesses are weathering the recession and it is what our citizens and their consumers have come to expect.

In the Comptroller’s Office, we are using state-of-the-art technology that’s improving our services and saving the State millions. We have made it easier and more user-friendly to pay taxes on time, reuniting taxpayers with refunds within 72 hours. We are collecting from tax cheats who put law-abiding citizens and businesses at a disadvantage.

On the Board of Public Works, I have been an independent fiscal watchdog, objecting to the waste of taxpayer dollars on: waterlogged Eastern Shore swampland, bailouts of failed resorts and museums, and slot machines costing $120,000 each.

By becoming more efficient and improving our services, looking out for the taxpayers’ best interest and opposing waste and abuse, we can achieve a Third Way that citizens of our great state expect and deserve.