Budget crisis during an election year?
The impending passage of a balanced budget for the fiscal year that begins in July doesn't look like it's going to mean much when it comes to Maryland's long-term fiscal health. Laura Smitherman reports this morning that the state is on track to face a budget shortfall of $1 billion -- and maybe a lot more -- next year, right before an election.
The state government has a fabulous track record of fiscal stewardship during election years. Like the time it cut income taxes right before Gov. Glendening was facing a rematch with tax hawk Ellen Sauerbrey -- without any plan to cut spending to compensate. Or the time the legislature passed a multi-billion education funding plan just before the 2002 election without identifying a way to pay for it long-term. (Or, as some Republicans snidely put it, the funding source was Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. That worked well.) Or how 'bout this one: Ehrlich's budget in his first year in office grew by 2 percent. The year he was seeking re-election? More than 11 percent.
O'Malley came into office talking a good game about a once-and-for-all reckoning of the state's budget issues, cutting wasteful spending, revamping the tax code for a modern economy and enacting slots. But on the way to passage in the Nov. 2007 special session, the tax revamping mostly turned into a simple sales tax increase (with a bonus computer service tax that got reversed months later), slots became a constitutional amendment that has resulted in lackluster bidding for gambling licenses and the whole thing got packaged with spending increases to make it more attractive to legislators. It produced balanced budgets on paper, but as soon as the economy went south, the plan crashed and burned.
And that was at the beginning of a four-year term.
So what will happen next year? Here's betting it won't be pretty.
Comments
This legislative body has done nothing for the working man except stick it to him. 70% of the people said no sales tax & they did it any way.
The slots issue is completely thier fault & if we loose horse racing it's all thier fault too. We could have had slots 4 years ago
BGE---another example
ileagel alliens licences--what don't they understand about the word Ileagel
They don't listen to what we tell them to do-isn't that what they are suppose to do---maybe we won't listen to them @ election time
Posted by: jim quinn | April 13, 2009 12:01 PM
As long as democrats blindly follow their party without regard to the talent being put up for election, we will continue to see the rich take from the working class.
We would all be better off if there were no political parties...
Posted by: Ben | April 13, 2009 12:31 PM
Hey Jim, let me clarify why we didn't get slots in Maryland 4 (or even 5) yars ago. If Cas Taylor had remained Speaker of the House when Ehrlich became governor, we would have had slots long ago. Taylor and Ehrlich, along with Mike Miller, where all pro-slots. But the NRA targeted Taylor because he had to compromise too much with the more liberal Dems in he Baltimroe-DC area on gun legislation. So what did the NRA get out of the deal? A pro-gun Republican in an insignificant district in Western Maryland and a speaker that is more inclined to be anti-gun than his predecessor. Whit did Ehrilich get out of the deal? An anti-slots speaker AND and anti-slots (for religious reasons) Republican in Western Maryland. Thanks, NRA. Worked out real well for all of us.
Posted by: Edd | April 13, 2009 12:57 PM
I love the fact that Jim Quinn complains about "illeagel alliens" when Mr. Quinn can't spell either word correctly. HAHAHAHAHHAHA....It's illegal alien...jeez...I bet some of Mr. Quinn's "illeagel alliens" could give him a lesson in English. Just about every sentence in his post has grammar and spelling problems.
Posted by: oh lordy | April 13, 2009 1:10 PM
Great points Andy. Does anyone else find it amusing that Gov. O'Malley said we MUST raise taxes in the 2007 Special Session because there was NO WHERE left to cut? Then 5 months later we began the cycle of cuts he now claims tops $3.5 billion. It included eliminating 1100 vacant positions. So how honest was O'M with us the first time around?
We're in trouble next year, but we're in even worse trouble two years down the road. A significant amount of current troubles are sidestepped by using federal stimulus dollars. Ironically many of these stimulus dollars actually work to increase state spending...or in other words, give us a bigger budget gap when the magic money disappears as quickly as it appeared.
Through it all, Gov. O'Malley has been off drinking on public landings in St. Mary's County (see their newspaper), cutting new cds with his band, serenading Obama, and today he even has a political conference call at 4pm. They complained about Ehrlich's golfing, why in the world would they not say a peep about O'Malley's entire lack of leadership? We may as well just let him tour Ireland and put Miller and Busch into a co-Governorship because they do all the real work in Annapolis, bailing out Boy Gov.
Posted by: Believe | April 13, 2009 3:15 PM
O'Malley is a total FAILURE. He has done ABSOLUTELY nothing to fix the SPENDING addiction these legislooters have. NOTHING.
He did accomplish screwing the taxpayers AGAIN. Cash Cameras and DL's to IA's.
Whats that? That has not been resolved yet? Don't think so? These crooks and ILLEGAL ALIEN supporters from MoCO and PG Co will be sure to let their illegal constituants drive one way or another.
I predict the 2 tier House proposal will pass very late this evening so little debate will be heard.
Posted by: Fed Up | April 13, 2009 3:43 PM
oh lordy, why is it that people like you go FIRST to someones spelling and then forget all about the gut of the posts?
I see you have no thoughts of your own on the topic at hand, why?
Posted by: Fed Up | April 13, 2009 4:41 PM
Hey Andy-
what power do the illegals have in MD?
Casa too?
Why is this state kowtowwing to the illegals?
Do they have dirt on OMalley?
Can illegals vote?
Is that it?
Curious as why are legislators are kowtowwing to this group?
Posted by: jay | April 13, 2009 5:35 PM
Andy,
Are you feeling alright? The third paragraph of your blog contains some geniune criticisms of Gov. O'Malley. Hope your boss doesn't read this blog, you might get fired or at least a stern lecture.
Posted by: Waiting for the Sun to Set | April 13, 2009 7:04 PM
Still no word from oh lordy. Are you a hit and run drive by poster?
Posted by: Fed Up | April 13, 2009 7:09 PM