Had he lived to see the day, today would’ve been Ronald Reagan’s 99th birthday. Obviously most Republicans and conservatives cherish the memory of our 40th President but he also embodies a philosophy of conservative governance which inspires today’s generation of TEA Partiers. The Maryland Senate Republican Caucus recalls him this way:
Today would be President Ronald Reagan’s 99th birthday. In honor of this occasion, we…hope that Democrat leaders in state government will discover tax cuts as an avenue to spur economic growth in Maryland and lead the state out of the recession.
Unfortunately, Maryland has pursued the opposite course. As the state was entering a severe economic recession, General Assembly Democrats allowed Governor Martin O’Malley to foist the most historic, massive tax increase on our citizens.
Businesses already hammered by the recession were crushed by O’Malley’s anti-business pursuit of higher sales taxes, personal income taxes, corporate taxes and motor vehicle excise taxes. At the same time, O’Malley was adopting more stringent regulations that have added to the cost of doing business in Maryland.
In three short years, Maryland’s ranking as a state favorable for economic development has plummeted from 24th to 45th.
This was the biggest one-year drop ever in the history of the rankings and was based upon the tax hikes initiated by O’Malley: “Maryland’s drop from 24th to 45th out of 50 states on the Index is attributable to an increase in most of the state’s major taxes for FY 2009. They raised the corporate income tax rate to 8.25% from 7%, the sales tax rate to 6% from 5%, and the cigarette excise tax to $2.00 from $1.00 per pack. Maryland also created four new income tax brackets, raising taxes on filers earning more than $150,000 per year. The state’s top personal income tax rate is now 6.25% (up from 4.75%); that’s on top of a weighted average local option rate of 2.98%. Maryland now has by far the worst personal income tax in the country, with a significantly lower score than second-place California.”
With these kinds of rankings, it is obvious that Maryland needs a turn-around artist with the talents of President Reagan.
(snip)
An economic program for Maryland’s future must include a rollback of taxes and government regulations combined with true restraint on government spending in the FY11 budget.
For more on President Ronald Reagan and his successful economic policies, check out the links on our website at www.mdsenategop.com.
Having said that, I’m not sure Bob Ehrlich is a Ronald Reagan but should he be restored as governor I’m certainly hoping that the Republicans in the General Assembly keep him on the straight and narrow with more or less conservative principles.
But rolling back the tax increases would be a fine start. The governor would have control of spending given his power to create Maryland’s budget, but eliminating the taxation would force whoever creates the budget to do it prudently. Of course a prudent budget and taxation would help draw businesses back to Maryland, although eliminating some overregulation would also be a great help, and it’s there I’m not sure Bob Ehrlich would be forceful enough. Then again, having a Governor who rolls over for every last whim of the envirolobby isn’t doing much for us either.
Ronald Reagan carried Maryland as part of his 49-state landslide in 1984, so it’s obvious that a conservative message, well crafted, can carry the day in our state. The best way for Maryland Republicans to honor the memory of Ronald Reagan would be to fight for conservative governance he would be approving of.
