Petition Tag - md film incentives now

Factories and large businesses are obvious, apparent and easily observable. If one closes or has layoffs, it makes the news. The Maryland Film Industry, which is as big or bigger than many other local industries, is comprised of many individual craftspeople. As a result, the impact of unemployment or underemployment is basically invisible except to those who directly feel its pain.

As frightening as the current national 10.2% unemployment rate is to all of us, it is many times higher than that in the Maryland Film Industry. Although it is difficult to calculate exact figures given the widely distributed and diverse workforce, estimates approaching 40% unemployment and 60% underemployment may be conservative. In other words, catastrophic.

The national mortgage crisis has taught us that the problems of an individual family's personal bankruptcy ripples through the lives of the surrounding neighborhood like an earthquake. A similar earthquake is now being felt in Maryland as its Film Industry workers fight to stay solvent, pay their mortgages and feed their families. These ripples created by the lack of work extend through every retail and wholesale business in the state and through every service sector that would normally be patronized by these taxpaying Maryland residents.

Please read and sign the petition below. Personal information and emails will never be publicly viewed. Your privacy will be respected.

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