Issue Position: Economy

Issue Position

Creating Jobs & Fighting for Working Families
Job creation is Maryland's #1 priority. Maryland has one of the most highly skilled workforces in the country. Its close proximity to the nation's capital and the federal government provides a unique opportunity to capitalize on a research hub where ideas are born and shared to provide businesses with unparalleled access to informational and technological resources.

I am proud to serve on the Maryland House of Delegates' Business Climate Workgroup (BCW), whose mission is to ensure that Maryland continues to attract new businesses and empower small businesses to expand. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. We must assist with access to capital, extending tax credits for hiring new workers, and encouraging research and innovation.

The BCW makes recommendations and develop long-term plans to streamline business regulations, encourage business innovation, and develop public-private partnerships to finance infrastructure, consider creative financing mechanisms to stimulate infrastructure development; identify ways to promote Maryland as a central place for economic development.
Today, working families are under more stress than 20 years ago. It is high time we account for indexed inflation and raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10. In Maryland, tipped workers earn just $3.63 an hour and a raise to 70% of the minimum wage is needed.

The need for facilitating a balance between work and family life as a means to overcome women's persistently disadvantaged position in the labor market as a result of having to choose between full paid employment and care giving responsibilities. I am committed to helping women combine work and family life and have introduced legislation for mandatory paternal leave. I believe this will create more equal distribution of childcare and housework and will allow women more able to rise to positions of power in the workplace, and help narrow the salary gap between men and women.

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