Marylanders: overtaxed,
overregulated, overwhelmed
Recently Maryland’s
Governor Martin O’Malley released the state’s budget for the next fiscal year,
a number so large that any rational mind would have trouble conceptualizing it
for such a small state. Ceremoniously, the Governor noted the new state budget
would be 37.5 billion dollars. To provide some sense and perspective to this
number, another very blue state was chosen for comparison, California. The
Golden State has a population of 38 million, Maryland’s comes in at under 6
million. Geographically Maryland has approximately 7% of California’s square
mileage. Though Maryland has only 15% of the left coast’s population and 7% of
its land area, the Free State’s budget is 25% of California’s 146 billion
dollar fiasco. The question arises: Why does Maryland need this level of
funding to survive? Maryland is not at war, except with its taxpayers,
therefore it requires no payments to support an army. A close analysis of the
budget notes it floods a bloated state workforce with pay increases and
incentive bonuses. Public Schools are overfunded with billions of dollars of
gravy that will not improve education, but will bring in the votes from
teachers, to keep the democrat horde in power. Higher education now needs more
funding since illegals were given the right to pay in-state tuition during the
2012 election. Medicaid will be budgeted at record levels instead of attempting
to innovate this program to reduce costs. The Rainy Day Fund will be further
enhanced, to quietly feed choice programs of the Governor. Nowhere in this monster budget is their relief
for the poor taxpayer. Regulations continue to pour out of the Maryland
legislature to extort money from businesses to feed this behemoth. Our state
Comptroller’s office is busy sending out thousands of letters each week,
finding new and creative ways to burden the population in order to pay for O’Malley’s
financial follies. Ironically, this newest state budget assumes more not less
revenue from the feds. If the latter is not satirical, the state accountants
believe the 4% tax increase on six figure incomes, approved last year, will
also enable this fantasy budget to be funded. Once before millionaires were
selected out for surtaxes and somehow 1,000 of them vanished from state tax
rolls. Governor O’Malley is blind to the
financial disasters now plaguing other blue states. The crunch will soon come
when taxpayers understand the motivations of our lawyer governor. Maryland is a
Mecca for the entitlement crowd. Democrats feed this crowd to stay in power. We
all know who these people are and the fringe benefits they receive just for
existing. Many counties and cities throughout the country are facing
bankruptcy, it is only a matter of time before Maryland has to pay the piper. O’Malley
and his minions will not be around when the downturn comes, his aspirations are
west of Annapolis. Maryland’s overreach will be the same hand that buries the
state financially, unfortunately there may be no other hands to bail the state
out. Mark Davis, MD
President of Healthnets
Review Services, www.healthnetsreviewservice.com
platomd@gmail.com Manager of the political
group on LinkedIn, Government in Transition. Please join in and comment.
