OPINION: Creating Jobs in Perry Hall and Across America

The American Jobs Act of 2011 includes the best bipartisan ideas to boost our economy in Perry Hall and across the nation.

Most of the proposals within this $447 billion bill, although proposed under Democratic purview, were either originally proposed directly by Republican members of Congress or received legislative support from a large number of Republican elected officials.

It is important for all of us to understand the concepts within this legislation and their potential impact on our community.

Just about 54 percent of the expenditures proposed within the act ($240 billion), would support tax reductions, both for individual citizens and businesses. Payroll taxes paid by individual workers would be cut almost in half. The typical family in Maryland, with a median income around $65,000 annually, would receive a tax break worth about $1,980. 

The plan also proposes two important tax cuts for individual businesses. 

• Payroll taxes would be cut in half for 98 percent of all businesses.
• A complete payroll tax holiday would be added for workers or increased wages.

As a result, in Maryland, 110,000 firms would receive a payroll tax cut under the act. Other tax credits would encourage the hiring of returning and/or woulded veterans into jobs or job training programs.  Locally, would be eligible for tax credits to promote hiring of workers at the to build new electric car motors.

A series of proposals are also included in the legislation to help prevent future job losses. An investment of $35 billion would prevent layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers, while supporting the hiring of tens of thousands more and keeping police and firefighters on the job. 

In Maryland, this proposed funding would support up to 6,000 educator and first responder jobs. After having lost nearly this schol year, should look upon this idea as welcome news.

Elected officials from both sides of the aisle have long recognized that America has woefully underfunded the maintenance of its infrastructure. From and bridges to , we have a backlog of building projects that can no longer be postponed. 

If this legislation is successful, Maryland will receive more than $315 million to support school infrastructure improvements and $625 million to fund highway, transit, rail and aviation projects. Collectively, these dollars would support about 122,000 local jobs.

Utilizing the best ideas of both parties and the most innovative states, the act contains comprehensive reforms to the unemployment insurance system to help those without jobs transition to the workplace. These concepts could help put the 90,000 long-term unemployed workers in Maryland back to work. Along with these reforms, the bill also contains an extension of unemployment insurance for those presently out of work.

Deliberations regarding the act are now underway. I encourage each of you to carefully review this legislation and see how Maryland and its local communities would benefit from its proposals.