Economist: Federal Dependency Makes Maryland Vulnerable to Fiscal-Cliff Fixes

A lousy business climate played into that dependency

In the midst of America's fiscal crisis, economist Anirban Basu told members of Maryland's Chamber of Commerce that it is imperative for the state to lower corporate income tax to create better opportunity to attract capital investment to offset the impact of decreased federal spending.

Speaking at the chamber's business policy conference in Ellicott City on Friday,  Basu said the Free State is three times more vulnerable to the impact of federal reductions than any other state.  The number of Americans that work for the federal government is 2.1%, while 5.2% of Marylanders get a federal paycheck. With extensive cuts scheduled for the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health, both staples in Maryland's economy, Basu said Maryland is in for a "world of hurt."