when does spending get cut? When is less money going to go to entitlement programs? All O'Malley knows how to do is tax and spend, what a scumbag

Yet another campaign promise broken; yet another tax raised on working Marylanders.

I dont think he's taking into account the amount of people that will head out of state to save money.

I have a challenge for this blog. Please keep a record of the "expected revenue" the alcohol tax (and other new taxes) as stated prior to enactment (and used as the basis for justifying such ridiculous increases in govt. revenue). Then check back in with the bean counters in a year and let us know how much of that "Expected reveneue" is actually realized. I would like to see how accurate these projections are across the board. My cyncal nature tells me that the projections are inflated and the policies are ill conceived, but I'll wait a year for the facts to speak for themselves (and will eat crow if need be). Thanks.

Such a brazen soul Gov. O'Malley is to sit down and sign anything that taxes the Maryland citizen more, more, more.........We gave him enough money to balance the budget fore score and seven years ago. 87 years of a man's lifespan.

A tax raised on working Marylanders? This is a tax on drinking Marylanders.

I think the boneheads in Annapolis need a refresher course in math. Just because the tax has not been raise since 1972 does not mean the state has not been getting more money. Taxes are levied as a percentage of te sale price of an item and not a fix amount, which guarantees that the State receives more revenue as the price goes up. I don't know the exact numbers, but I'd venture to guess that a case off beer in 1972 (last time the tax was raised) was at least half of what it is today. That means the State is getting at least 2 times the revenue. But wait...the state can not contain it's spending and now it's citizens must pay the price for their fiscal irresponsibility. Where else outside of the government can any business or individual grossly out spend their income and survive?

Rob
How will we know when those who take our money LIE?

Rob
How will we know when those who take our money LIE and those whose job it is to report on where the money is being spent doesn't give a hoot either because all of the above LOVE TAXES.

Next sales tax hike will be on..........
1. Cigarettes
2. Fast Food.
3. Gas guzzler cars
4. Gas saving cars ( to make up for loss in gas tax)
5. lottery, which in essence is a tax on a tax.
6. personal CO2 emissions. ( hold your breath!)

Go ahead, tax it. I don't imbibe. Alcoholics, like smokers and the obese, are causing our healthcare costs to skyrocket with their poor circulation, fatty livers and pickled kidneys. Pay to play.

Is is any wonder that Maryland is rated one of the worst states for business? Just above California and New York.

Thinking of Governor Tax N. Spend makes one wistful for the glden years of Spiro Agnew.

The links in the article to see the vetoed bills is the same as the link for the signed bills & the vetoed bills are not among the signed bills either.

Come on folks. Just be thankful that our benevolent leaders, true leaders, in Annapolis let us keep a substantial portion of their money every month. Isn't this why as Marylanders we continue to keep the same people in power in Annapolis?

Another 3 cents on the dollar! Oh, the humanity!

Regardless if you choose to drink or not, whether you are an alcoholic or if you only buy it once a year - the point is EVERYTHING keeps going up but peoples' paychecks, and spending does not get cut! Sales tax, tolls & cigarettes, property tax, vehicle tag/registration fees, water bills, BGE, gasoline, Alchohol, now tolls might go up again. Soon they'll find some other reason to add a "fee" or tax onto something. Tax tax tax. One way or another it affects all of us Marylanders.

Maryland is just too dam expensive to live in anymore across the board.
Especially for us lucky ones residing in Baltimore.
Cant wait for the special session to give it to us Marylanders but good again.
What a joke.

Did I actually read this opinion right? The tax on alcohol is good because it will lead to a breakup of the alcohol industry and create a better climate for the consumer?
Wow, is that ignorant!

It's a shame this state CONTINUES to get away with robbing it's citizens.

Allen..please keep your self-righteousness to yourself.

@Cham
"Go ahead, tax it. I don't imbibe. Alcoholics, like smokers and the obese, are causing our healthcare costs to skyrocket with their poor circulation, fatty livers and pickled kidneys. Pay to play."

I think you have that wrong. It's the people who DON'T drink and smoke, live to 100, have to go to the doctor every week, and eventually end up in a nursing home while bleeding medicare and medicaid dry. The smokers and drinkers never make it past 75.

Ever wonder why most medical insurance doesn't cover therapies that help people quit smoking?

Once again O'Malley raises taxes on the poor and middle glass. If you're a guy working at McDonalds or Wal-Mart and like to have a beer or two after work, you now have to pay more. Like people have said, everything goes up -- gas, food, rent, beer, taxes, fees, etc. -- except for pay checks and safety net programs, both of which tend to get cut. And, hey, watch out for those speed cameras. Better not talk on that cell phone to check in on your family on the way back from your second or third job you have to work.

If the state of Maryland needs more revenue, raise the state income tax 1% for people making over 300k a year or something. Let the people who can afford to pay, pay, and stop messing with the people who constantly teetering on the edge of not making it.

I thought Democrats were supposed to be on the side of the poor and the voiceless. I guess not in Maryland. I'm a Democrat, and I wouldn't vote for this joker for another term. I wouldn't vote for a Republican, but I wouldn't vote for him. A message needs to be sent.

Personally, I live in Pennsylvania, but I'm in Maryland all the time for stuff -- it's where I buy my beer, for one thing. So this stuff hits me. If not for Pennsylvania's insane alcohol laws, the difference would be like night and day. Pennsylvania has a lot fewer of nitpicky traffic laws and weird taxes on the lower classes.

It's like Maryland has gone to pot in the last few years. I've never seen so many stupid traffic laws and tax-the-poor schemes imposed so quickly in any state before.

I am NOT for ANY tax increases, however, as a smoker paying $2 a pack in state taxes (and don't even try to tell me the majority of you weren't all for THOSE tax hikes! I saw the posts supporting them all over this newspaper's website every time the issue came up.) I say it's about time the boozers paid their share too. You're complaining about going from 6% to 9% on booze, but the tax on cigs is $2 for state tax and $1.01 for federal tax - and we get charged sales tax on those sin taxes! Depending on the brand you buy, more than half of the cost of a pack can be tax! Last pack I bought (on special) cost me $1.77 for the cigs, $1.01 for Fed tax, $2 for state tobacco tax, and 29 cents for state sales tax! $1.77 for the tobacco, and $3.30 in taxes!!! So you boozers will get NO sympathy from me! The alcholol tax hadn't been raised in many, many years - like around 20 years right? Well, in that time tobacco tax has gone up THREE times - each time much more dramatically than the booze tax is going up.

For all those that wonder how this "pretty boy empty suit" could sign another tax increase. I have the answer. HE DOESN'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! Your job is continue to work, the more hours the better. His job is to raise your taxes, appoint his relatives to jobs and serve the "New American's" that are now flooding this State. You just need to love him for his smile, his muscules and the banjo he plays. "What's in your wallet"!!