Maryland budget fixed – for now
At the estimated cost of $20,000 per day, the just-completed three-day Maryland General Assembly special session enabled Governor Martin O’Malley and his liberal Democratic allies in the state legislature to wrap up their work on the FY2013 budget. Through a combination of a $263.8 million tax hike which mainly falls on middle- to upper-class wage earners and a complex budget reconciliation, including the passing of the teacher pension burden down to the county level, the state has successfully framed the fiscal picture O’Malley wanted to paint for Maryland.
But for those of us who have observed Martin O’Malley’s five-year reign over Maryland, the result of this special session simply seems like deja vu all over again.
(continued at Examiner.com…)
Doomsday rally quotables from notables
Some of what was said Monday evening in Annapolis:
Delegate Michael Smigiel:
“Did anybody here vote for somebody to create a quarter-billion dollar slush fund for you?” – reaction to a provision in the BRFA called the “Budget Stabilization Fund.”
“They’re telling us to move forward into a tax bayonet, pointed right at the heart of the middle class.”
“We’re going to be one Maryland united against these tax increases that they’re trying to put on us.”
“Only in ‘entitlement math’ is the fact that you’ve got a $700 million increase (but it becomes) a half a billion dollar cut.”
“A triple A bond rating means one thing: you’re willing to tax anybody, any amount, anytime. I would much rather have my freedom, I would much rather our counties have their sovereignty, then to have the burden of having to pay that $35 billion (in teacher pension liability) coming due.”
Introducing Delegate Mike McDermott: “Our next speaker has changed the way things are done in the legislature as far as speaking goes. They had to repaint the walls after Mike spoke the first session because he peeled a little of the paint off.”
U.S. Senate candidate Dan Bongino:
“Frankly, I’m tired of hearing about how Republicans – we’re this anti-government, anti-tax crowd. Folks, that’s nonsense. You know it and I know it. I will proudly give you my last dollar to fund our fighting men and women overseas…I will proudly fund our police, our fire, our teachers, our court system. But folks, I will be damned if I pay one more dollar to fund a cowboy poetry festival in Nevada.”
“We have all the gifts in the world (in Maryland.) Why are people leaving? It’s not us, it’s them…it’s him (Martin O’Malley.)”
“They like to classify people into ‘us’ and ‘them’, because if they don’t have victims they don’t have anything.”
State Senator E.J. Pipkin:
“(As of Wednesday, when the revenue bills pass) Martin O’Malley is officially the $2 billion governor.”
“One thing (Democrats) can never, ever stop: that’s the idea that we can have better ideas than what’s on the table, and we have the right to put them forward, and eventually our better ideas will win out.”
AFP Maryland head Charles Lollar:
“We have the arrogance of an administration that wants to take more money from you and I…it doesn’t work, you’re wasting more of our money.”
“It’s an issue about taking money from those who create opportunity and trying to give it to those who simply don’t want to create opportunity.”
“Whether it’s five people, 15,000 people, or 500 people – this is our state, this is our country, and you’re not going to take it without a fight on your hands.”
“We created the greatest economy on God’s green earth with sweat equity, an American spirit, and a belief in God that was greater than our own. And now my fear is…my daughters are going to inherit a state that does not understand the American spirit.”
“You cannot pursue happiness sitting on your rear end.”
To Governor O’Malley: “On our watch, you will not be able to continue to raise taxes and sleep peaceably because we’ll stand right outside your window…until you understand this is our state.”
David Craig, Harford County Executive and 2014 candidate for Governor:
“This is actually a doomsday session, not a doomsday budget. I could live with the budget that was proposed.”
“If you look at our history, we were called the Free State. Now we’re the Fee State. I’m surprised they didn’t charge you a fee to come here and stand and listen to this.”
“Please don’t die, because it’s going to cost you twice as much to get your death certificate.”
“We don’t have Democrats in this state – I get along with Democrats. We have ‘monocrats’ in this state. They just want a one-party state so they can run things.”
Delegate Mike McDermott:
“We have a governor that is increasingly putting the burden on our children’s children. Nonstop. It is the kids – today we were inside, and all the kids are taking the tour, and they’re walking around looking at history, and I’m thinking ‘you know what, every one of you poor kids is getting tagged for this.’”
“We’ve got the best schools that debt can buy.”
“When the governor moves you forward, just remember you’re walking a plank. That’s where we’re moving forward on, we’re moving on a plank.”
“Governor, if you’re not going to change your ways – if you’re not going to cut our taxes, if you’re not going to control our spending – then the next time you bring a budget in here, and we strike it, you strike the colors of the state of Maryland and you run up the Jolly Roger! Because this is nothing but a pirate ship! The only thing missing from the Governor and his staff is a patch over one eye and a parrot on his shoulder.”
Delegate Neil Parrott:
“Washington County, I look across the border – I see West Virginia. I see Virginia. I see Pennsylvania. And I see businesses, unfortunately, relocating or locating to those other counties instead of coming to Washington County.”
“We’ve got to stop this tax and spend attitude. It’s out of control. We also need to stop the one-party system in Maryland; it’s not working.”
“One other way – besides just winning elections – that we can change our state is something we haven’t used very much, but we just used it last year for the first time. They wanted to raise our taxes to give it to illegal aliens – that’s what they wanted to do and they still want to do it. Thanks to you all, last year we stopped that.”
“This year, I came to session thinking ‘you know, we’re (in a) $1.2 billion structural deficit,’ which just means this: we came to session thinking we’re spending $1.2 billion more than we’re taking in. That must be Governor O’Malley’s top priority…instead, he spent over half the session pushing through a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland.”
“This (Congressional districting) map is an example of politicians choosing their voters. We don’t want politicians choosing their voters, we the voters want to choose our politicians.”
Senator Nancy Jacobs, a 2012 Congressional candidate:
“Governor O’Malley does not live in reality. When was the last time this man bought a gallon of gas? Before he was here – on our taxpayer dime – he was in the City of Baltimore and they paid for his gas. When was the last time he bought a loaf of bread, or a gallon of milk? We should put him on one of those game shows and see if he knows the price of any of these things, because I don’t think he does.”
“I always thought that when (O’Malley) said we’ve got to move the state forward, that’s code for here comes another tax.”
“(O’Malley) has higher aspirations and they are costing the citizens of Maryland so he can go to Washington.”
Delegate Cathy Vitale:
“We didn’t pick the cuts. We didn’t select what was going to happen. The doomsday budget was carefully selected to cause you to come back here to fix the problem. Anybody figure out there’s a problem?”
“Decisions were made, it’s time to live with them. Go home.”
Delegate Gail Bates:
“Our beautiful State House dome is made of wood…do you know they don’t have a single nail in that? It was all put together with wooden pegs. Do you know why? There was a tax on nails, and they refused to pay it.”
**********
As far as actual results go, the protest didn’t do much. We’ll get the income tax on those who make a middle-class living, the tax on certain tobacco products, and other “revenue enhancements” we don’t need. But now we have them on record again, and you can bet votes from this Special Session will find their way to the monoblogue Accountability Project.
Picket line and dueling rallies to punctuate Maryland Special Session
One participant only expects it to last two days, but the upcoming Special Session of the Maryland General Assembly may have just as much action on the outside as it will on the inside.
As currently scheduled, events outside begin with a “picket line” being organized by the “We the People” group of Carroll County at 9:30 a.m. That effort – complete with “union dues” which will be collected for donation to the Maryland Food Bank – will give way to a noontime press conference by the Maryland chapter of Americans for Prosperity at the State House in Annapolis.
Later on, dueling – but not simultaneous – rallies will inhabit Lawyers Mall outside the capital late Monday afternoon. First will be a “Last Chance Rally for Tax Fairness” hosted by Progressive Maryland, beginning at 5:30 and lasting about an hour. They will be urging the General Assembly to pass the tax hikes necessary to forestall the so-called “doomsday budget” which only increases spending by $700 million over last year’s expenditures, as opposed to the $1.2 billion spending hike originally envisioned by Governor Martin O’Malley. Along with a significant increase in tax rates on high-income earners progressives would also like an increased tax on non-cigarette tobacco products, a toll which was included in the budget reconciliation bill which died along with the regular session at midnight April 9.
After the liberal side yields the field, once again those who oppose the prospect of tax hikes and believe the state can do more with less will begin their affair, the Rally Against the Doomsday Session. The event is scheduled for two hours, and is slated to start at 7 p.m. Obviously there could be a few counter-protestors at each event who stand in opposition to the side then holding court at Lawyers Mall.
(continued at Examiner.com…)
The state takes over
Tonight the Wicomico Society of Patriots (WSOP) will hold an “emergency meeting” to discuss impending state action on the county’s budget, making the claim that “your property tax cap is dead!” One may ask why the budgetary woes of a comparatively small county on the Eastern Shore are relevant to both the functions of the state and to those reading this piece. To answer that question, a little bit of history is required.
In 2000 the Wicomico County Council, which at the time held both the legislative and executive functions of county government, enacted a huge property tax increase – a whopping 46 cents per $100 of assessed valuation – on county homeowners. Angered by the surge in both taxation and spending, county residents enacted a revenue cap later that year at the 2000 election. This cap limited the revenue from property taxes to an amount no more than 2 percent over the previous year’s take.
(continued at Examiner.com…)
Rage against the machine
As I wrote Sunday, the Maryland General Assembly holds a Special Session beginning next Monday to address what Martin O’Malley and majority Democrats consider a revenue shortfall in the FY2013 budget. Despite the fact a budget was passed during the regular session, the $700 million increase wasn’t to the liking of educators, unions, and others who were expecting another $500 million or so in the budget to address their wish list.
While Republicans won’t have the votes needed to stop any tax proposal put forth by O’Malley and his Democratic allies, they can use the occasion as a cudgel to spread their message of fiscal responsibility. On Monday evening a planned rally will give voice to the opposition message that increasing taxes is the wrong solution to a budgetary problem that doesn’t even exist.
(continued at Examiner.com…)
What to expect from next week’s Special Session
On Friday Governor O’Malley made it official: the Maryland General Assembly will be called in beginning May 14 for a Special Session to deal with the state’s budget. While the Maryland legislature passed a budget prior to the close of the regular session April 9, O’Malley and majority Democrats complained the so-called “doomsday budget” didn’t fund all the items on their wish list – this despite being $700 billion higher than the budget for fiscal 2012, which ends June 30. The one measure which will be scheduled for consideration will be along the lines of legislation Annapolis regularly passes each spring to adjust the ongoing budget year, a bill called the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act, or BRFA.
(continued at Examiner.com…)
Another legislative wrap-up (or two)
Here are a couple items as we await the determination whether there will be a special session for the General Assembly.
First I have a legislative wrapup from a pair of Baltimore County Delegates, Susan Aumann and Kathy Szeliga. Take your pick; they are essentially the same. I find it interesting how the two have pooled their efforts, which I suppose makes sense since their constituencies are relatively similar.
This leads me to note that I’ll have the final chapter of the McDermott notes in the next few days. Whether he will be as breezy as the duo of ladies seemed to be remains to be seen, but I’m sure he was frustrated by the overall tone of the session and most of the outcomes.
And then there was the assertion, repeated by Annie Linskey at the Sun, that the budget is not balanced. Yet it seems to me we’ve made a number of midcourse corrections in the past when revenues weren’t as expected, so the only difference is that in this case the cuts have to be made by July 1st, when fiscal 2013 begins. Meanwhile, now that the $218 million Maryland Mega Millions jackpot has been claimed the state already has a little bit of unexpected revenue. Somehow the money is always found.
Meanwhile, from the perspective of the pro-business advocacy group Maryland Business for Responsive Government, the “doomsday” budget is misnamed:
“Ironically, the Governor and legislature could have called the doomsday budget a ‘new day’ budget, declared victory and gone home,” said (MBRG President Kimberly) Burns. ”But it was never intended to be taken seriously, and there will now be a mad scramble to continue government spending at record levels as a special session looms on the horizon.”
When spending is up hundreds of millions of dollars (instead of over a billion, as Governor O’Malley would have liked) the fight over semantics is fairly meaningless, and the ‘doomsday’ is more like the day of reckoning when state taxpayers have their last dimes shaken from them. What really matters is the fact the state is spending more money than it did in fiscal 2012 and it has to come from somewhere.
But I can say that one local business is thriving, and perhaps that’s in some small part due to the patronage of my readers. I’m pleased to announce that the Robinson Family of Business has extended their sponsorship of my enterprise! So look for their advertisement atop the website for awhile longer – if you’d like to join them and my other sponsors, the details are here.
The terror is not over, folks
From the sounds of a wild last few minutes of the 2012 General Assembly Session, we have a budget without the means to pay for it. Fortunately for the state, it wouldn’t take effect until July 1 so it’s extremely likely we will have a Special Session called by Governor O’Malley.
The state had 90 days to get this done – and they failed. But we have the distinct possibility of gay marriage and we ratified the 17th Amendment nearly 100 years after passage. Way to go, guys…that’s the leadership we deserve I guess for voting so poorly all these years.
I’ll surely have more reaction in the morning.
Update: First out of the chute, Delegate Nic Kipke:
In unprecedented action the House stands adjourned Sine Die and the Senate stands adjourned Sine Die. Hundreds of bills did not pass including all of the tax increases! The people have won a huge battle! Now Governor O’Malley will have to call a special session to raise taxes on Marylanders giving you another chance to contact your elected officials to voice your concerns.
Update 2: Delegate Donna Stifler’s reaction:
WOW!!! Worst sine die since I’ve been down here. No balloons and confetti this year. Never seen anything like what I saw tonight. Rules changing to fit results, people not being allowed to speak, just unreal. Glad to be done. Or at least until the Governor calls a special session so we can finish.
The “mainstream” media weighs in: Washington Post and Baltimore Sun. Maryland Reporter also has their take.
It sounds to me like the state has a budget, but one just not as large and laden with tax and revenue increases as they would like. If so, it seems like there is no need for a Special Session because the so-called “doomsday” budget (which, if it’s $500 million less than proposed, is STILL larger than last year’s) is balanced and approved. Governor O’Malley cannot veto a budget, by state law.
But it’s most likely that a Special Session will be called because we know better than to think Martin O’Malley will leave Democrat leadership hanging out to dry in this state. They both have something the other wants: O’Malley makes the Democratic leadership relevant as they jockey for position in a post-O’Malley political landscape and the Democrats have the power to make this state into the liberal Potemkin village the governor wants to show for his 2016 Presidential bid. For example, O’Malley probably has no use for the gay population of Maryland aside from their votes, but gay marriage is one of those progressive issues he has to show “leadership” on to be a national Democratic contender, sort of like being pro-abortion became required for national Democrats a couple decades back.
Update 3: Delegate Michael Smigiel calls out the “doomsday” misnomer:
I need the help of everyone who reads or posts on this site. I need you to call the media, radio, TV and newspapers around the State and make sure they stop reporting the “Doomsday Budget” means “deep cuts in services”. The simple fact is the “Doomsday Budget is $ 400 million more than last year’s budget. How can cuts be necessary when you grew the size of the budget by 400 million dollars? O’Malley is trying to spin this as some great tragedy for entitlements and education. It is an opportunity to show fiscal restraint and responsibility.
Because, Michael, the spoiled child Martin O’Malley and his special interest buddies didn’t get all the wealth redistribution they wanted. In the end, it’s not really about how much is spent and raised, it’s all about power. If they hold the money and they get to decide what to do with it, that’s a huge ego trip which can’t be replicated if We the People control our own purse strings and spend as we see fit. Don’t ever forget it.
Update 4: The pithy Maryland Democratic response:
Only (Maryland Republicans) would gloat over the prospect of firing teachers and police officers.
Prove it. And let’s not forget exactly who could have passed anything they wanted because they have enough of a majority to do so. Sorry, Democrats, you OWN this mess but I don’t foresee you taking any steps to clean it up soon because it will give you a convenient excuse to blame Republicans. That narrative doesn’t play here.
The McDermott notes: weeks 11 and 12
Yes, I missed last week, but Mike had such a long week I didn’t have a chance to post in a Sunday slot – and I had a lot to write about anyway.
We’re now at the point in session where the hearings have pretty much ended and the House is now taking up a number of bills which have passed through the Senate. But as Mike wrote at the top of his Week 11 notes, “The news I bring you this week from Annapolis is not good.”
Some of the lowlights included the passage of a bill to further hinder Maryland’s opportunity to join in on the Marcellus Shale bonanza. “There was a significant amount of propaganda put forward by Chairman McIntosh citing many ground water contamination concerns”, wrote McDermott. “Although none of these instances has shown to have been caused by hydraulic fracturing in the process described, the chairman is a believer and is not swayed by many known facts.” But as he describes in week 12, there’s no problem with rushing offshore wind.
Anti-tax rally in Annapolis March 22
Looks like the TEA Party is going to rear up: while the House of Delegates is debating the State budget the tax revolt will be heard and seen all around Annapolis.
Thursday’s event is a last minute call to action. Tomorrow at noon there will be a group of cars circling the State House starting at noon honking their horn to show their opposition to increased spending. Others will be standing with posters opposing the elimination of the tax cap, stopping tax increases, and asking the government to hold the line on spending. There is also an opportunity to witness the debate first hand. Visitors are invited into the House Chamber in the gallery.
Delegate Susan Aumann (R – Baltimore County) said, “We are facing historic tax and fee increases, and it is government spending that is inhibiting the growth of Maryland’s economy.”
“Enough is enough!” Delegate Kathy Szeliga (R – Baltimore and Harford County) added, “From the beginning of session we had polling that proves 96% of Marylander’s say they pay enough in taxes.”
Tomorrow’s event is expected to draw supporters from all around the state.
The protest is spearheaded by a number of Republican Delegates from the Annapolis area, who are counting on the help of local activists to make a point. Admittedly, the thought of a line of cars circling the seat of government has its appeal because there’s no need to have a large group to make the point. It would be more of a newsworthy event than the equivalent small amount of protesters holding their antitax signs.
It’s probable that the protests won’t do any good, particularly when the Democrats run the General Assembly like their own fiefdom and Governor O’Malley needs the money for his spending initiatives and to refill the funds he looted to balance his previous budgets. And who are we kidding? Those funds will be raided yet again next year as O’Malley begins his push for the 2016 Democratic nomination.
But the success of this event will be more on the awareness front, as the Democrats have been known to overplay their hand. Let’s get as many out who can spare the time and get ourselves in the news.
The McDermott notes: week 10
Last week was rather routine in the General Assembly, at least on the surface. But if you read between the lines of Delegate Mike McDermott’s weekly field notes, you can find some interesting observations.
It starts right up with the hearing on HJ12, a resolution co-sponsored by McDermott and fellow Eastern Shore Delegate Michael Smigiel. First of all, this is just a resolution – there is no attempt to change any law here and the sum total of the actions called for would be the redress of grievances to our Congressional delegation. But only 6 of the 20-plus members of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee could be bothered to show up, according to McDermott.
However, as I recall from my work on the monoblogue Accountability Project, the Rules Committee is a second committee some serve on along with other work. (That’s why I don’t have any of their votes on the mAP, because their three committee votes are covered elsewhere.) So there’s probably some good reason that many Delegates didn’t attend the hearing; moreover, this isn’t a complex bill. Hopefully the bill will get a committee vote, though, so it will be on the record who supports this rebuke and who does not.
The age-old quandry
I know I’ve made this point before, but Second Congressional District candidate Larry Smith argues that representatives should refrain from taking available funding for district projects, even if a Democrat may grab it.
Claiming opponent Nancy Jacobs “didn’t hold the line in Annapolis (thus) likely won’t in DC either” Smith criticized the Senator for a $100,000 earmark she secured for the Plumpton Park Zoological Gardens in Rising Sun. Larry also quoted a Washington Post story from last April where Jacobs made the case that “she recognized the political reality that Democratic leaders, who control both chambers, were going to divvy up the money regardless, and she didn’t want her constituents to get ‘shortchanged.’”
And it’s a subject which has often come up in state politics. I began talking about it way back when Nancy’s former cohort Senator Lowell Stoltzfus spoke about it at a Wicomico County Republican Club meeting, when he argued “that he was conflicted about that – on the one hand, it goes against his grain to spend this extra state money on items in the 38th District, but if we don’t get it, someone in another part of the state will be happy to grab it. (Stoltzfus) noted that one budget during the Ehrlich years did not have any money for legislative initiatives and he was quite happy about that fact back when it occurred.”
The key is within the statement – when the money wasn’t made available, this wasn’t an issue. And a key difference between Congress and the state of Maryland is that our budget is made by the governor, with the only input from the legislature being that of cutting. Obviously there is the possibility that the General Assembly could cut that part out of the budget but under a Democratic governor and General Assembly pigs will fly first. On the other hand, Congress sets the federal budget so if they put their mind to it they could eliminate all the earmarks. Smith could conceivably argue the point he makes about Jacobs would apply because she may be all in favor of earmarks once she goes into Congress, but using the Maryland General Assembly as an example is sort of an apples to oranges comparison.
There’s no doubt Smith is hanging his hat on being a fiscal conservative – just take a look at his 20-point plan of cuts. But it’s a little bit unfair to say, as Smith does, that “Jacobs single-handedly managed to cede the moral high ground that Republicans could have held regarding earmarks during Session 2012.” She was far from the only one.
So if you take an honest look at the situation, both parties have blame to share. But there’s some teaching we need to do, too. Too many people judge their representatives by how much bacon they bring home, but there are times when the bacon is lean and times where the fat should have been cut out. Obviously there are functions government needs to perform but too many people believe their projects need assistance. A discerning district wouldn’t give Jacobs credit for $100,000 to help a zoo, but it’s obvious she saw the probability she could get kudos for this.
The question of how much credit she got may be answered come April 3.
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