2. BUILDING AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE
CORE PROMISE: As your Representative, I will fight to make life more affordable so hard work leads to real opportunity.
Across the country, families are being squeezed. Everything costs more — groceries, gas, housing, medical care — while wages lag behind. Meanwhile, some corporations raise prices without justification, pay executives record bonuses, and exploit loopholes to avoid paying their fair share.
At the same time, too many businesses undercut honest employers by cutting labor costs the dirty way — through wage theft, misclassification, unsafe working conditions, and the exploitation of undocumented labor to suppress wages.
That is not an immigration problem. It is an economic fairness problem — and it hurts working people, law-abiding small businesses, and anyone trying to get ahead
MD-05 reflects this national problem in very real, local ways.
Our district is economically diverse. We are home to major federal installations, agriculture and rural communities, a working coastline and seafood industry, skilled trades, energy potential, and thousands of small businesses that want to grow.
In too many parts of the district, the choice looks like this:
high-paying jobs that require clearances, degrees, or insider access
or low-wage service jobs that don’t pay enough to live here
What’s missing are middle-wage jobs and locally owned businesses that allow people to build a life without leaving their community.
In St. Mary’s County, the economy is split between specialized, higher-paying work and low-wage service jobs. Too much growth has focused on expensive housing and service industries, while the locally owned businesses that support agriculture, seafood, skilled trades, technical services, and other core industries haven’t kept pace. As costs rise, many longtime residents are pushed out despite steady work.
In Charles County, strong employment anchors exist, but too many workers are locked out of middle-wage opportunities that don’t require insider access or leaving the county. New development often brings retail and housing without creating enough locally rooted businesses, trades, and support services that allow working families to build stability.
In Calvert County, people want economic opportunity without losing the county’s rural character. Agriculture, energy, and skilled trades offer real potential, but middle-wage jobs tied to those industries remain underdeveloped. As housing costs rise faster than wages, even full-time workers are squeezed.
In Prince George’s and Anne Arundel, economic activity is strong, but too much of it flows upward to large employers and outside firms. Many residents are left choosing between highly specialized jobs or low-wage service work, with too few pathways into stable, locally owned, middle-wage businesses that keep wealth in the community, forcing residents to search for meaningful employment outside of the district.
Across MD-05, the pattern is clear: growth without balance creates higher costs without enough opportunity. People are being pushed out not because they aren’t working, but because the economy isn’t structured to let working people get ahead.
MD-05 does not need sprawl. It does not need to lose its rural character or working waterfronts. It needs an economy that works with what we already have.
That means building a middle-ground economy made up of small, locally owned businesses that support larger systems — whether that’s defense, agriculture, seafood, energy, or infrastructure.
Success should not require everyone to work on base, leave the county, or work two jobs just to survive. Success can be built by association — when local businesses support major employers and industries, the benefits reach the whole community.
To restore fairness and rebuild the middle class, I will sponsor the Corporate Accountability and Fair Labor Enforcement Act (CAFLEA) to:
strengthen enforcement against wage theft and labor exploitation
protect honest small businesses from being undercut
hold corporations accountable when they break labor laws
ensure economic growth reaches working people, not just executives
This campaign is built on one simple belief:
If you work hard in MD-05, you should be able to afford to live here — and get ahead. That means fair wages. Fair rules. Local opportunity.
HOW I’LL WORK TO FIX IT:
Use congressional oversight — hearings, data request and formal inquiries to ensure labor laws are enforced, small business are not shut out of federal contracts, and agencies are actually delivering results
Vote to raise the federal minimum wage and index it to inflation so Congress can’t ignore it for decades while cost keep rising
Sponsor the Corporate Accountability and Fair Labor Enforcement Act (CAFLEA) to hold corporations accountable when they knowingly violate labor laws, engage in wage theft, misclassification, or unsafe working conditions - without targeting workers
Tie federal funding to real outcomes by pushing agencies to measure job quality, wage impact, and small business participation — not just spending totals
Fight corporate price gouging by pushing stronger enforcement and transparency for essential goods, so families are paying more simply because corporations can get away with it
Advocate real middle-class tax relief focused on working families and small businesses — not high-end loopholes that reward wealth concentration
Defend and strengthen unions and collective bargaining rights so workers have real leverage to negotiate fair pay and safe conditions
Work to raise the corporate tax rate from today’s 21% toward a fairer level for large corporations, while protecting and expanding incentives for small and locally owned businesses
Invest in apprenticeships, skilled trades, and job pipelines tied directly to local employers — including agriculture, seafood, trades, energy, healthcare, technical services federal supply chains
Incorporate local voices — small business owners, workers, unions, and community leaders — directly into federal decision making through testimony, advisory input, and public engagement
Expand small-business lending and simplify access to capital through a one-stop federal/local portal so entrepreneurs aren’t buried in paperwork
MD-05 FOCUS POINTS:
I will target federal investment and procurement to grow local small businesses, skilled trades and workforce pathways across all industries — not just one sector
Hold quarterly Chamber of Commerce roundtables across MD-05 - to hear directly from employers and workers, track what’s working, fix what isn’t, and accelerate SBA assistance where it’s needed
Push federal investment that will expand the commercial tax base, so communities aren’t forced to rely on unaffordable housing growth to balance budgets
JOIN THE FIGHT.
Your contribution helps Terry Jackson fight for integrity, fairness, and opportunity in Congress. Every dollar supports grassroots outreach, community events, and keeping government accountable to the people. Every movement for change begins with people who refuse to stand by.