Business Climate

Dan Rodricks ' advice that "complaining CEOs need to take a hike" (May 9) comes a bit late. For the first time anyone can recall, this year's Fortune 500 includes zero Baltimore-based companies. We are now the largest U.S. city without a single corporate headquarters, and there are only four left in the state - down from 11 as recently as 2007. Clearly, those who decide where to create local job opportunities (and, let's not forget, lead many philanthropic efforts) have been taking a hike for many years, just as over 300,000 Baltimore residents voted with their feet over the decades and fled the city's high property taxes, incredible shrinking economy and dismal provision of public services.

In a recent column, Dan Rodricks essentially excoriated corporate CEOs for whining about Maryland ("Complaining CEOs need to take a hike," May 8). OK, he feels that they make too much money, that's his right, and it falls exactly in line with the thinking in the halls of both Annapolis, and Washington, D.C. It's those "greedy capitalists" again. When will they ever have enough? Fast forward to a more letter to the editor ("Ignore business climate at our peril," May 11) in which a reader notes that Baltimore is no longer the home city for corporate offices of a single Fortune 500 company!

Northrop Grumman Corp.'s plan to cut 800 jobs from its Linthicum-based Electronics Systems division is just another example in a long line of business decisions resulting from the manifest anti-business sentiment in Annapolis. Northrop Grumman is the largest private employer in Anne Arundel County but only the third largest employer overall. Guess who are 1 and 2? As long as we continue to allow government, which advises, regulates, and plans and produces absolutely nothing, to interfere more and more in the sectors that actually produce jobs and economic growth, we can expect more of the same - businesses high-tailing it for friendlier environs.

Big business and anti-tax groups have been making hay out of a story in CEO Magazine that ranked Maryland 41st in business climate. But look closely: a lot of the things that CEO Magazine says are holding states back are actually things you would want for yourself and your family. Many of CEO Magazine's bottom-ranked states have the highest incomes, lowest poverty rates, and the best rates of health coverage and education attainment, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland.

Nearly 400 people packed a conference room Thursday to hear conservative leaders argue that Maryland is in critical need of a better business climate as big federal spending cuts loom. Change Maryland, a group started by a businessman who contemplated a run against Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2010, timed its first event well. The day before, the Pentagon warned that it would be forced to furlough most of its civilian defense employees, including 45,000 in Maryland, one day a week if the federal "sequestration" budget cuts begin March 1. State Del. Steven R. Schuh, an Anne Arundel County Republican, told the crowd at the Westin Annapolis hotel that Maryland has reaped years of benefits from high levels of federal employment and contracting, "but this policy of extreme dependence on federal spending has consequences.

"Maryland is 50th out of 60 U.S. markets with pro-business attitudes.""Maryland is America's #1 most litigious state in auto accident suits.""Maryland leads the nation in jobs lost."That's how a North Carolina business political action committee summed up our state's performance in recent years. It was the N.C. PAC's way of warning members what can happen if they don't move heaven and earth to ensure a pro-business climate among elected officials."Why did companies leave Maryland?" the solicitation letter asked.

Jim Brady looks at the state's business climate, and he doesn't like what he sees. But he's been given a rare opportunity to do something about it."Economic development is the greatest need in this state and is the area where we can make the biggest difference early on," said James T. Brady, co-chairman of Governor-elect Parris N. Glendening's transition team.Maryland needs to "make the business community a stakeholder in economic development" and "address its reputation as a state that is not pro-business," added Mr. Brady, the Baltimore managing partner of Arthur Andersen & Co., the international accounting house who will serve with the governor-elect's wife, Frances Hughes Glendening, to help shape the new administration.

This is the final article in a three-part series on Maryland's economy and the difficulties the state faces in attracting business. Today, the views of the two major gubernatorial candidates are presented.Democrat Parris N. Glendening and Republican Ellen R. Sauerbrey see eye to eye on very little, but they agree the business climate in Maryland is in trouble.Mrs. Sauerbrey blames a state government that "treats business as a problem to be solved rather than the horse that pulls the wagon."

In a recent column, Dan Rodricks essentially excoriated corporate CEOs for whining about Maryland ("Complaining CEOs need to take a hike," May 8). OK, he feels that they make too much money, that's his right, and it falls exactly in line with the thinking in the halls of both Annapolis, and Washington, D.C. It's those "greedy capitalists" again. When will they ever have enough? Fast forward to a more letter to the editor ("Ignore business climate at our peril," May 11) in which a reader notes that Baltimore is no longer the home city for corporate offices of a single Fortune 500 company!

Reacting to a survey that found decreased optimism about Maryland's business climate, the state's acting economic development secretary said yesterday that the climate "is better but not as good as it could be."James D. Fielder Jr., who took over as head of the Department of Business and Economic Development after James T. Brady resigned April 28, pointed to an income tax cut, smoother permit procedures and the appointment of a state trouble-shooter as examples of the state's increased friendliness toward business.

Dan Rodricks ' advice that "complaining CEOs need to take a hike" (May 9) comes a bit late. For the first time anyone can recall, this year's Fortune 500 includes zero Baltimore-based companies. We are now the largest U.S. city without a single corporate headquarters, and there are only four left in the state - down from 11 as recently as 2007. Clearly, those who decide where to create local job opportunities (and, let's not forget, lead many philanthropic efforts) have been taking a hike for many years, just as over 300,000 Baltimore residents voted with their feet over the decades and fled the city's high property taxes, incredible shrinking economy and dismal provision of public services.

I took a walk early Wednesday morning. Azaleas and dogwoods were in bloom. Green-again trees and shrubs were damp, dripping from Tuesday's rain. A zillion birds were singing, and even the starlings sounded sweet. The Orioles had won another game. A horse with a Maryland owner had won the Kentucky Derby. There were several things about which to be pleased. There was the usual ugliness in the news — the shootings that go on in Baltimore, no matter the season — but I gave myself 15 minutes to walk and appreciate the peace of the 6 a.m. sidewalk.

Del. Ron George, a Republican who operates a jewelry store almost under the shadow of the State House, will go for the political gold as he makes a run for governor in 2014. George, who represents Anne Arundel County, confirmed Tuesday that he has made up his mind to enter the Republican primary race. The two-term lawmaker, who is 59, becomes the second member of the House to signal an intention to run for goveror next year, when Gov. Martin O'Malley cannot run because of term limits.

Nearly 400 people packed a conference room Thursday to hear conservative leaders argue that Maryland is in critical need of a better business climate as big federal spending cuts loom. Change Maryland, a group started by a businessman who contemplated a run against Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2010, timed its first event well. The day before, the Pentagon warned that it would be forced to furlough most of its civilian defense employees, including 45,000 in Maryland, one day a week if the federal "sequestration" budget cuts begin March 1. State Del. Steven R. Schuh, an Anne Arundel County Republican, told the crowd at the Westin Annapolis hotel that Maryland has reaped years of benefits from high levels of federal employment and contracting, "but this policy of extreme dependence on federal spending has consequences.

A group formed by a Maryland businessman argued in a report released Monday that the state's Department of Business and Economic Development is a political marketing organization rather than the job-creation agency it should be. The department needs to reorganize to attract more jobs to the state, and must better measure its performance and increase transparency, the Change Maryland report says. The group was founded by Larry Hogan, who heads an Annapolis real estate brokerage, worked as appointments secretary for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and contemplated a run against Gov. Martin O'Malley in 2010.

Most of us likely take paid sick leave for granted. It accumulates over time, and we dip into the account when there's an injury or illness that prevents us from going to work, whether for a day or, as in the case of a serious malady, for much longer. Workers benefit most directly, but it also allows employers to attract the best and brightest workers and spares their co-workers and customers from coming into contact with a potentially contagious disease. But what so many have come to expect as a minimum standard of full-time employment, many others have never experienced first-hand.

After years of being rapped by businesses as unresponsive, the Schmoke administration has appointed a 40-member task force to study how the city can improve its business climate and how best to lobby the next presidential administration about urban policy.Although the panel's job will be largely to rally support for new policies, the formation of the task force, called the Development Incentives Task Force, came Tuesday without any formal announcement from the mayor's office."The mayor's interest is in the results of this process," said Honora M. Freeman, president of Baltimore Development Corp.

HOW'S the business climate in Maryland? Temperate temperatures, light breezes and 50 percent humidity as far as eyes can see, according to business practitioners. The latest and last edition of the Maryland Business Climate Survey compiled by the University of Baltimore showed not only gains in hiring and revenue (the business "weather") but also broad optimism about ambient commercial conditions. For almost a decade the university has asked executives whether Maryland is pro-business or anti-business or somewhere in between.

Do we really need to have the nanny Gov.Martin O'Malley's New Hampshire visit as a 2016 presidential hopeful on the front page ("O'Malley rallies faithful in N.H.," June 3)? Do you think that is "informing" the Sun's million Sunday readers? The state of Maryland is already in the bottom 10 percent of states as far as taxes go for business climate. Now, I guess the governor can work on getting the U.S. in the bottom 10 percent of the world in taxes (if we are not there already).

The BWI Business Partnership's breakfast will feature Christian Johansson, the Maryland Secretary of Business and Economic Development, Tuesday, March 20 from 7:45 to 9:15 a.m at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve, 7795 Arundel Mills Blvd., in Hanover. Johansson will speak about critical issues involving Maryland's competitive business climate, both regionally and in the international marketplace; and the work of his department's Office of Military and Federal Affairs and the state's tourism promotion efforts.