Yes, let me beat that Wal-Mart horse some more. But today our local state Delegate, a gentleman by the name of Norman Conway, had to weigh in with his thoughts on the "Fair Share Health Care Act." Here's the link to the Daily Times article:
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050508/OPINION01/505080321/1014/OPINION
I really loved this line:
"All I desire is fairness for our established businesses and for the workers who will fill the jobs Wal-Mart brings."
Well then...I have a a suggestion to bring about more "fairness."
You know that the Eastern Shore abuts the state of Delaware, and the state of Delaware does not have sales tax. So, since it's not fair for our local businesses to have to compete with sellers in the First State that have the advantage of not charging sales tax (which is a 5% discount) let's eliminate the Maryland sales tax for those counties on the Eastern Shore. Oh, I know, the Maryland state government would have to take a cut in revenue, but it certainly would be more fair to our businesses!
It's all about equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. Instead of making Giant Foods (who, with the help of the labor unions, basically concocted this measure against its main competition) work harder to find suppliers who charge a better price or strive to make their business more cost-effective, the Democrats in the Maryland General Assembly (of which Conway is one) decided to punish the achievement of Wal-Mart, a company that makes its business on providing and selling products at the lowest possible profitable price.
I find it quite interesting that Delaware, which was a "blue" state in 2004 and re-elected a Democrat governor at the same time, is known as one of the more "business-friendly" states as far as financial institutions go. Look at any of your credit card bills and there's a good chance that they get sent to Delaware. In fact, I drive right by the Discover Bank when I drive up to the casino. It's far from an imposing building, basically a decent-sized branch bank in the small community of Greenwood. The town is probably otherwise known as a speed trap along U.S. 13. The point is - some states know which side their bread is buttered on. It could be that the Democrats in Delaware are as liberal as any others, but they seem to understand that having lots of businesses in their state creates more wealth and a larger pie to slice out of and create the nanny state they dream about.
But our Democrats in Annapolis do not seem to understand that companies want a state where they won't be punished if successful. With what they have done in this legislative session, I'm betting companies could start thinking twice about Maryland as a base of operations - especially with Delaware close by and Virginia adjacent to the DC area. And this guest editorial by Delegate Conway shows the reason why.
