AFFORDABILITY
We need to start having frank discussions about why Maryland is no longer affordable for most of us.
Starting with how we are going to protect Maryland from future White House and MAGA policies that are aimed at making you, me, and our neighbors collateral damage in the President’s personal vendetta against Maryland.
Maryland’s constitution requires we balance the budget each year. We already know that upcoming employee salaries and benefits, Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, teacher retirement costs, and social services programs create a state budget gap of $3 billion in FY2029 and $4.1 billion by FY2031.
However, the current deficit estimates do not take into account the unanticipated costs due to the White House and MAGA policies. We have all felt the effect of these policies driving up everyday costs like food, gas, and energy. The same increase in costs impacts local and state budgets. Think about what it takes to run one school with gas for school buses, food to serve breakfast and lunch, and energy to heat the buildings. Now expand that to every state agency office, bus service, police and fire department, and school buildings across the state.
Nor did the state budget anticipate the impact of the 2025 shutdown, but the White House did. The White House Council of Economic Advisors estimated, before the shutdown, that a federal shutdown would cost Maryland:
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$700,000 per day in lost state tax revenue;
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$1 Billion in federal contract spending per month; and
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$2.4 Billion in consumer spending each month due to federal employees going unpaid.
The 2025 shutdown lasted 43 days with total losses to Maryland around:
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$30 million in state tax revenue;
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$1.4 Billion in federal contract spending; and
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$3.4 Billion in consumer spending.
Then the White House fired 25,000+ Maryland federal employees in 2025, the state lost $200 million in revenue. Many of these taxpaying Marylanders have left the state, further reducing our tax base.
And then the White House refused to pay federal benefits during the shutdown. Benefits required under US law and paid for by our federal taxes. So, the state of Maryland stepped in and covered the federal payments to:
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Feed 668,000 families (with 259,000 children) at a cost of $63 million in SNAP benefits.
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Heat 13,000 homes totaling $10 million in federal energy assistance.
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Support 5,900 retirees whose social security benefits were delayed.
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Stock the state’s food banks with $10 million in emergency assistance.
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Support small businesses whose federal small business loans disbursements were delayed under the shutdown.
But wait, we are just now experiencing the full costs of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, or H.R. 1. The bill changed the funding for SNAP (food stamps) and now requires states to pay 75% of running the Federal program (up from 50%). This one change will cost Maryland $43 million each year.
H.R. 1 also eliminated the Affordable Care Act subsidies which will affect 90% of adults ages 50 to 64 with an estimated 7% increase in health care costs.
So, like all of us facing unforeseen costs, the state will need to raise more money or cut programs. Maryland's largest areas of income are individual income taxes, sales taxes, and around $150 Billion annually from the federal government through federal wage and retirement income, contracts, grants, and direct payment spending.
In 2025 the Federal government employed 269,000 Maryland residents (not including active-duty service members) with a combined annual earnings of $26.9 Billion. These jobs represented 6% of the state’s overall employment and 10% of overall wages in the state.
We should all be working on options to raise state income, streamline state programs, or reduce the costs of federal policies on Maryland and the citizens of Frederick County.
Because we have had enough of politics, what we need are real solutions.
AARP.org. Health Insurance Premiums Spike After ACA Tax Credits Expire.
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The Daily Record. 12.05.2025 Maryland to Pay Millions under Trump's Bill.
MD Department of Labor. New Employment Data Reveal Trump Firings Have Cost Maryland Nearly 25,000 Federal Jobs in 2025, with 10,300 Federal Jobs Lost October-November.
MD Office of the Comptroller. Impact of Federal Government Spending and Jobs on the Maryland Economy, June 2025
White House Council of Economic Advisors. Economic Impacts of the Government Shutdown in Maryland. 2025
Fact Sheet. Governor Moore announces expanded support for Marylanders amid record long federal government shutdown.
The Urban Institute. State Fiscal Briefs - Maryland. February 2026.
MD Office of the Comptroller. Current Maryland Revenue. 2020