Saturday’s Conway / Mathias Meeting

Much has already been written about Saturday morning’s Salisbury town hall meeting held by Del. Norm Conway (D-38B) and Del. Jim Mathias (D-38B).  Michael Swartz of Monoblogue provides a very factual, blow-by-blow account.  Julie Brewington of Right Coast Girl weighs in with a little more opinion.  My friend Joe Albero, uncharacteristically, is taking a “can’t we all get along” approach.

There are two things that almost everyone seems to agree on.  One is that we appreciate Conway and Mathias taking time to meet with constituents.  Yes, I know it’s an election year AND that it’s part of their job.  Yet, not every member of the legislature takes the time.  The second thing is that both Conway and Mathias are “good guys”.  I concur.  Wicomico County Exec Rick Pollitt is a “good guy”; so is Councilmen John Cannon and Dave MacLeod.  Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes is a “good person”.  Hell, I’m sure there are even a few people who like Salisbury Councilwoman Louise Smith and Wicomico Councilman Bill McCain.  Regardless, taxpayers need to ask themselves if they can afford to continue supporting these “good guys”.

BIG GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVES?

Mathias is widely considered to be the more conservative of the two delegates representing 38-B.  Both Mathias and Conway attempt to portray themselves as “common sense, conservative Democrats”.  However, closely listening to these two yields a different conclusion.  Mathias lamented the fact that Wicomico County had lost large employers such as Dresser, Campbell Soup, and Crown Cork & Seal.  Yet, according to Mathias, these private sector employers had been replaced by the growth of Salisbury University, Wor-Wic Community College, and PRMC.  What’s the difference?  For starters two of the three are GOVERNMENT and the third does not contribute to the local tax base.

Before anyone starts pointing fingers, I’m not bashing SU, et al.  Our local economy benefits greatly from these institutions.  Sadly, as SU and PRMC continue to expand their respective footprints, the impact on the local governments will be increasingly negative.  Why?  They don’t pay property taxes and their “payments in lieu of taxes” never keep up with the increasing demands being placed by these institutions on local infrastructure and services.  Yet, Mathias argues that replacing private sector employment with the public sector is somehow an even trade?

PROTECTORS OF THE FAMILY FARM?

What distressed me even more than Mathias’s belief that government can create wealth was the hypocritical rhetoric of both Conway and Mathias regarding our farmers.  Mathias and Conway both crowed that they were helping local poultry farmers to get needed permits for new poultry house construction.  This would be wonderful EXCEPT for the fact that Mathias, Conway, and their lefty pals in Annapolis are attempting to DESTROY DELMARVA’S POULTRY FARMERS.

While Conway and Mathias are "helping” poultry farmers in public, they are working with groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Maryland League of Conservation Voters to put these same constituents out of business.  While these groups are plotting with state officials and local politicians like Pollitt, Cannon, Sample-Hughes, and Wicomico councilmen Bill McCain and Dave MacLeod to strip farmers of their property rights (in the name of “preserving our agricultural heritage”) they are simultaneously working to put these same farmers out of business:

We know what causes these dead zones– unchecked pollution from large factory chicken farms and sprawling development. President Obama has given the EPA a chance to hold these polluters accountable.

Taking away the property rights of local farmers AND regulating them out of business is hardly the image Mathias and Conway want to convey to Wicomico and Worcester farmers.  Yet, they certainly aren’t standing up to protect those farmers.

WHERE IS MY LIMITED GOVERNMENT?

Both Mathias and Conway attempted to sell their assembled constituents that they were working hard to spend their money wisely AND lessen the burden of government regulation on businesses and individuals.

Really?  Where’s your evidence guys?  Both Conway and Mathias live off of the public trough.  Conway is a retired BOE employee.  Mathias’s wife is the town clerk of Ocean City.  Where have either of these two ever stood up to the waste, fraud, and abuse of state and local government?

Mathias and Conway argue that there are only 10 members of the House of Delegates from the Eastern Shore and it takes 71 votes to pass a bill.  That’s true.  However, the quid pro quo, back scratching approach that Mathias and Conway seem to take regarding state policy simply isn’t working.  Heaping praise on Gov. Martin O’Malley and sucking up to their profligate pals in Annapolis has simply yielded an environment where hard working, law abiding, private sector taxpayers are being held hostage to the deified leviathan of big government.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

According to both Mathias and Conway, not much.  The government is just going to continue taking an ever greater share of our economy.

I disagree.  While there are no quick fixes, voters simply need to ask themselves one question when they vote in November:

CAN WE AFFORD ANOTHER FOUR YEARS?

Regardless of the office, if the GOP fails to offer a real alternative DON’T VOTE for that particular office.  Our elected officials must learn that the days of people working FOR the government are coming to an end.  When Marylanders take the same actions as former New Jersey residents and vote with their feet, people like Jim Mathias and Norm Conway will learn that a state populated by government employees and transfer payment recipients simply can’t function.  Only private enterprise can create wealth.

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