To some, the size of government simply can’t be large enough to redistribute wealth to those they consider “disadvantaged.” Take the group Progressive Maryland, which I prefer to refer to as Regressive Maryland. In either case, they’ve once again combined with the supposedly nonpartisan Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute to produce their annual “State of Working Maryland” report describing their wet dream of social architecture and handouts to those they deem deserving.
In their report, they gasp that, “(t)he danger Maryland faces is that most of the gains of the economic recovery will flow to the wealthiest Marylanders.” Isn’t that generally the way those who assume the most risk by investing capital are rewarded? Meanwhile, they also complain that, “(m)ajor deficit reduction should not be on the table until the recovery is firmly on track, that is, until unemployment has dropped and is on a downward trajectory.” So we are supposed to place our children and grandchildren into deeper debt because economic conditions aren’t very good? Well, the problem seems to be that our vast debt is leading to the economic doldrums, folks! How much money shoveled at the problem is enough?
Among the number of charts and graphs enclosed in the report, I found the “Maryland Job Count in Selected Industries” bar chart on page 9 fascinating. It seems Maryland’s growth industries over the last three years are (wait for it) education, health services, and – of course – government! Conversely, those taking the biggest hit over that period are manufacturing and construction. Isn’t that what they want, more government workers? This should be paradise!
But the last five pages of the report are where the rubber meets the road – they need to pay for their grandiose schemes somehow. Their wish list includes digging into the pockets of Maryland people and corporations doing business in the state to the tune of nearly $3 billion. (Consider that the state’s portion of our annual budget – not including monies passed down from the federal government – runs around $13 billion.) Apparently the pointy heads who created this report feel that working Marylanders need to cough up a little more.
These are some of the taxation schemes they’re trying to enact, with the amount they are hoping to raise:
- Extend the ‘millionaire’s tax’ which expires at midnight tonight for another three years, to raise between $70 and $90 million. That is, it would if any millionaires remain in the state – many have already fled to more tax-friendly places.
- The ‘dime-a-drink’ tax on alcohol. They actually quizzed candidates on this one; unfortunately, those who favored raising the tax tended to win at the ballot box (many were unopposed.) So those who like their Bud longnecks, their glass of white Zinfandel, or shot of Southern Comfort will be helping the state supposedly raise over $200 million. Way to tax the poor and middle class.
- Raising the gasoline tax by 15 cents a gallon to raise $450 million. The idea is twofold: get people to drive less and perhaps clamor for more mass transit. That’s not working here on the Shore; we just take it in the shorts. The same people who scream about oil companies making maybe 4 cents a gallon profit are the ones who want to deduct an extra buck or two on each tankful (on top of the 23 1/2 cents a gallon they already charge) because it’s been 18 years since the tax was raised. So? For some people it’s been 18 years since they could afford a new car, and this won’t help them a bit.
- Combined reporting for corporations will supposedly raise between $92 and $144 million, based on 2007 numbers. Of course, the numbers for 2008 weren’t as favorable for the group so they didn’t use them, claiming the year was an anomaly because it “reflects a low level of profits at the depth of the recession.” Well, guess what – driving business out of the state is going to keep us in a recession. If Maryland adopts combined reporting, business will find another loophole. Trust me on this. Even the Maryland Business Tax Reform Commission, a body mainly hand-picked by the Governor and other Democrats, couldn’t support this turkey.
- And now the biggie – expand the scope of the sales tax to include more services, for “Maryland taxes 39 of 168 services included in FTA’s survey of all states.” Yes, only 39 of 168 – that simply won’t do for them. This could raise up to $2 billion. Of course, they’re concerned about “(t)axation of basic household services (which) would disproportionately burden low-income households” but obviously they don’t give a crap about the average working family who will get hammered every time they order a pizza or pay their cable bill.
Of these five, I give the best odds of General Assembly passage to the ‘dime-a-drink’ tax, followed by the ‘millionaire’s tax’, expansion of the sales tax to services and the gas tax increase. I think the General Assembly will heed the advice of the MBTRC and not consider the combined business tax this year, and the gas tax will be a tough sell because pump prices have surged dramatically since this summer. This is confounding experts who usually see prices decline once the summer driving season ends and refineries can revert back to a less expensive blend of gasoline that’s not formulated to fight smog.
Given the 133-55 advantage Democrats have in the General Assembly and our re-electing a governor who won’t say no if the General Assembly passes a tax increase, it’s pretty much a fait accompli we will be stuck with at least one of these increases, if not more. That’s why elections matter, and the fact that many Free Staters are tapped out doesn’t matter to many of those who were elected last month.
It’s not the tone I would have preferred to end the year with, but things are what they are. Since this is almost certainly my swan song post for 2010 (unless something really major happens and I can somehow update from my phone) I hope you all have a happy and prosperous new year in 2011 – despite the best efforts of liberals everywhere.