By Zachary Halaschak
Washington Examiner
June 26, 2024
Read the full article here.
Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on Wednesday laid out his agenda to make life more affordable for Marylanders suffering from years of inflation as he seeks election to the U.S. Senate.
The 68-year-old centrist Republican discussed his economic priorities at a campaign stop in Stevensville. Speaking behind the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Hogan touted his eight-year tenure as governor and pledged to bring his experience to Washington, D.C.
“You see the bridge behind me,” Hogan told the group gathered. “We cut tolls for the first time in 50 years at every single toll facility across the state. We eliminated 350 fees, and we cut taxes eight years in a row by $4.7 billion.”
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Hogan pointed out how much inflation has affected his past, and perhaps future, constituents. The economy more generally, and inflation more specifically, has been the biggest issue in this year’s election cycle. It is a major vulnerability for President Joe Biden and Democrats.
The Federal Reserve considers healthy inflation to be about 2% annual growth, but as of now, annual inflation is running at 3.3%, according to the consumer price index. That comes after now three years of cumulative inflation, with annual price growth punching in at 9% at one point.
“Washington continues to run up the debt, causing inflation and doing nothing to make life more affordable,” Hogan said at the campaign event. “The American dream is slipping away for far too many because of high inflation, which makes it harder and harder for many Marylanders to afford basic necessities.”
Alongside the campaign stop, Hogan’s team released a five-point plan roughly outlining Hogan’s affordability goals should become the first Republican since 1987 to represent Maryland in the Senate.
On the tax front, Hogan vowed to take a pro-taxpayer stance in Washington, which includes championing the child tax credit and the earned-income tax credit. Hogan also wants to index housing gains and Social Security taxes to inflation in the tax code, according to the campaign.
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Hogan spoke on Wednesday about how government spending and poor budgeting is hurting the country and Marylanders. He leaned on how he was able to balance the budget as governor while avoiding hiking taxes.
“We didn’t have a single tax increase for eight years, the entire time I was governor, and we turned a record $5.1 billion deficit, the worst in Maryland history, into a $5.5 billion record surplus which was the largest in history,” Hogan said.
