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THE CHAIRMAN: Any other delegate
desire to speak against?
Delegate Lloyd Taylor.
DELEGATE L. TAYLOR: Mr. Chair-
man, fellow delegates, I would like to make
a brief statement against the amendment.
I want to say that when we gave a tax
break to agricultural uses of land, we were
giving a subsidy to a special class of Mary-
land citizens. I shall read just two para-
graphs from a Yale Law Journal article
by Charles Wright. He said, "Analogous to
welfare payments for individuals who can-
not manage independently in the economy
are subsidies to business. Agriculture is
subsidized to help it survive against better
organized and less competitive sectors of
the economy, and the shipping industry is
given a dole because of its inability to
compete with foreign lines. Local airlines
are also on the dole. So are other major
industries, notably housing. Still others,
such as the railroads, are eagerly seeking
help. Government also supports many non-
business activities, in such areas as scien-
tific research, health, and education. Total
federal subsidies for 1964 were expected
to be just under eight and a half billion
dollars.
"Dependence creates a vicious circle of
dependence. It is as hard for a business
to give up government help as it is for
an individual to live on a reduced income.
And when one sector of the economy is
subsidized, others are forced to seek com-
parable participation. This is true of
geographical areas; government con-
tracts can fundamentally influence the
economy of a region. It is also true of
different components of the economy. If
one form of transportation is subsidized,
other types of transportation may be
compelled to seek subsidies. When some
occupations are subsidized, others, which
help to pay the bill, find themselves dis-
advantaged as a class. Thus, it is not
strange to find musicians seeking a sub-
sidy, perhaps to pay food bills that are
made artificially high because of another
subsidy."
We find in the State of Maryland and
throughout this country ship lines and air-
lines are subsidized by the government. We
find the housing industry subsidized by the
government, and, my friend, Delegate Ko-
ger, will find that the insurance industry
benefits from subsidies of the government.
We have put in a subsidy of the farmers
of this State. Therefore, under this con-
stitutional principle we should and must
provide economic opportunity for the people
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who are in need, and if we can do this
for one class of citizens we can do it for
all classes of citizens.
I sponsored an amendment that would
provide a certain amount of rights and
economic benefits to all citizens and that
includes not only the poor, but the middle
class. For instance, when I worked for the
welfare department, we helped people who
worked every day. They were in need of
assistance to pay their hospital bills, and I
remember talking to a woman whose hus-
band earned $15,000 as an engineer, and
she needed help to pay for a relative in a
state hospital. We subsidize people every
day in the State of Maryland in the area
of hospital care and these are people who
are working. They have to pay hospital
bills. They take from their rent and food
money. This principle has been established
in the State of Maryland. If we can help
the working people in this state who are
working, and subsidize them with hospital
benefits, I am sure we can do it for all
citizens, and I want to say briefly —
(Second Vice-President William James
assumed the Chair.)
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : Your
time has expired.
DELEGATE L. TAYLOR: I want to
finish my statement because in a few years
we will be paying a hundred dollars a day
for hospital bills and how many people
can afford this? The State of Maryland
will have to assist these people whether
they are working or not working and these
are not only low income people.
DELEGATE JAMES (presiding) : Does
anyone wish to speak?
Delegate Adkins.
DELEGATE ADKINS: Mr. Chairman,
ladies and gentlemen, I will be very brief.
The aims and aspirations of this pro-
posal have been a spur to mankind's prog gress for a thousand years. We have not
accomplished the aims and objects of this
proposal, and I suggest to you that we
cannot mandate the General Assembly of
this State to do in any session of the forth-
coming General Assembly what mankind
has not been able to do throughout this
entire period.
Worthy as these objects are, I suggest
to you that to put this in this Constitution
will be in a sense to mislead the people of
this State into thinking that we have done
something for them which each delegate in
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