MOM should have done this 2 years ago-funding the budget at this level to avoid tax raises!
How about we eliminate funding to CASA?

These layoffs will only change the manor in which the State does business. Instead of having employees "do the job", they will spend money to outsource our work (pay consultants more $/hour and overhead)(usually around 30%). Also, they are famous for doing agreements with other government agencies to do the work formerly done by a State employee, pay them LOTS more + inflated overhead. These institutions/private consultants even have their employees sitting in State offices doing the work that the employees used to do. Dont u think it would be cheaper to keep the employees? Oh,but it makes the citizens believe the Governor is doing what he has to do...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Ehrlich inherit a budget surplus from Glendening? And O'Malley inherited a deficit from Ehrlich? Can someone with access to data other than Wikipedia shed some light on the facts for me? Thanks.

I agree Jay! to much money is spent on contracts, their management and their employees. The outsourcing of Maryland taxpayer money to these out of state contract companies and their employees that come from other state paying taxes in their companies state. Many times, a state worker has to train the contractor to do the job they were hired for, only to have the state hired that contractor to be the employees boss. President Obama is calling for a cut back on contract and contractuals is federal government.

A reply to Robin- Ehrlich gave O'Malley a budget surplus when he left office. Look up the budget numbers on the state budget website. Although the Democrats will try and spin otherwise, he had a surplus. Also, Ehrlich recognized that there was a structural deficit looming out there for the future years which we are now in.

As for the possibility of the layoffs, first O'Malley cut 700 vacancies last year and now it is being reported that several hundred more vacant jobs are being cut. Why are they in the budget in the first place ?
Second, there are plenty of state "employees" who are in essence contractors working in jobs that they use to do; they were given a nice buy out several years ago and are now back working the same job they were doing before. They should be the first to go.
Third, I don't understand some of the previous comments from state employees. If the program you are working in is reduced in funding or eliminated then the employees have to go to. That is what happens in the real world.

In response to Mr. Truth in Politics: As a state civil "servant" who sees the way the budget is crafted, programs aren't necessarily reduced or eliminated, they shift the salaries of employees off of general funds and use the surplus to fund consultants & other agencies to do the job at a higher cost. It can be literally impossible to hire or fill vacancies in many agencies. Managers are forced to whip together contracts to outsouce jobs to other agencies, institutions or private consultants.
This unfortunately costs more than using state employees and it creates the appearance to the public that there is a general fund saving. It is the proverbial shell game. This is the real world in Government.

Regarding Medicaid spending in Maryland - I reviewed some of the data on the web and found: The 2006 spending in Maryland was $5,000,486,138 (of course the Feds kick in a portion of that). Maryland has made no effort to contain Medicaid costs but has actually expanded programs. What portion of our states budget is expended on Medicaid recipients?