Opinion
Editorial: Maryland begs for federal bailout
August 20, 2008
Where will it end? First it was Bear Stearns, then Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Now the State of Maryland wants to get in line for a federal bailout. Maryland - so smart, so compassionate, so willing to increase taxes in order to provide a lavish smorgasbord of "free" government services - has finally hit the wall. The only surprise here is that anybody is surprised. Gov. Martin O'Malley promised all the usual special interests during his gubernatorial campaign that he would fix this and fund that. He called it "investing in our future." Members of the General Assembly were all too happy to join O'Malley's spend-athon. Now, less than a year after strapping a $1.4 billion tax hike on the backs of state residents, Maryland officials are drowning in a flood of red ink.
So U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, from Montgomery County and one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's loyal lieutenants, has been dispatched to ask Congress for financial relief for one of the wealthiest states in the nation. In fact, the only responsible solution to Maryland's "uncertain budget future" - as American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) legislative director Charles Loveless so delicately put it - is to cut state spending until it is in line with current revenue. In the real world, people call this "balancing the checkbook." Maryland politicos must learn to do this even if programs have to cut back or even terminated in order to eliminate $808 million budget deficit. And even if some AFSCME members lose their jobs in the process.
The fundamental problem here is the political con game Democrats like O'Malley – and some Republicans in the state legislature, too - have been playing for decades. As the Maryland Public Policy Institute recently pointed out, the $550 million budget "cuts" O'Malley made last year were really just reductions in planned spending increases. And where did the spending increases go? Ask Del. Heather Mizeur, D-Silver Spring, one of several Maryland legislators now calling for a congressional bailout. Earlier this year, Mizeur convinced her colleagues in the General Assembly to spend $5 million they didn't have on a technology fund. It happens that the fund benefits the same nano-biotechnology firms Mizeur represented as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. Mizeur's $5 million goody is just one of many similar examples of extravagant promises made by Maryland politicians without the cash to back them up. It's long past time these people get in touch with reality.
So U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, from Montgomery County and one of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's loyal lieutenants, has been dispatched to ask Congress for financial relief for one of the wealthiest states in the nation. In fact, the only responsible solution to Maryland's "uncertain budget future" - as American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) legislative director Charles Loveless so delicately put it - is to cut state spending until it is in line with current revenue. In the real world, people call this "balancing the checkbook." Maryland politicos must learn to do this even if programs have to cut back or even terminated in order to eliminate $808 million budget deficit. And even if some AFSCME members lose their jobs in the process.
The fundamental problem here is the political con game Democrats like O'Malley – and some Republicans in the state legislature, too - have been playing for decades. As the Maryland Public Policy Institute recently pointed out, the $550 million budget "cuts" O'Malley made last year were really just reductions in planned spending increases. And where did the spending increases go? Ask Del. Heather Mizeur, D-Silver Spring, one of several Maryland legislators now calling for a congressional bailout. Earlier this year, Mizeur convinced her colleagues in the General Assembly to spend $5 million they didn't have on a technology fund. It happens that the fund benefits the same nano-biotechnology firms Mizeur represented as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. Mizeur's $5 million goody is just one of many similar examples of extravagant promises made by Maryland politicians without the cash to back them up. It's long past time these people get in touch with reality.
