Maryland's Budget
It amazes me that our state government does not feel they need to live by the same standards that every day Americans do. The State of Maryland’s budget is a mess. There is a projected $2 billion budget shortfall for 2010 according to the Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates. While this figure is shocking, it should not be surprising to those who follow the way Maryland creates its yearly budget. During the 2009 Legislative Session in Annapolis, our elected leaders approved a $32.3 billion budget for 2010; this is an increase of $1.1 billion or 3.5% over the 2009 budget. During this same time our elected representatives conceded that government tax revenues were going to be down due to the current recession facing the country. In fact revenues were down close to $1.2 billion in 2009. How can you vote to increase spending when you know that you will not be bringing in as much money as the previous year? If the average American did this they would be in big trouble with their creditors.
The answer according to Annapolis was Federal Stimulus money. $4.1 billion of expected Federal Stimulus money to be exact. The leaders in Annapolis decided to plug in this one time money from the Federal government into the Maryland operating budget. So, what happens in 2011 when the Federal Stimulus money is gone? Where are we going to get the money in order to pay for the ever increasing Maryland budget? The answer is pretty simple. Either you cut spending in order to fund the most important programs, or you raise taxes again. Since the special legislative session in 2009 we have seen the result of increasing the sales tax to 6%, state revenues have decreased. Some may argue that this is due to the current recession, which leads me to wonder why you would choose to raises taxes during a recession.
I believe in a smaller government. Government has grown too big and has its hands in too many areas. For example, the Maryland Legislature voted to freeze college tuition for the University System of Maryland. This is a politically smart move as it saves college students and parent’s money. However at the same time they voted to cut aid to the University System by $21 million. So they cut money from the University Systems budget and then told the University System that they can’t raise tuition to fill the hole. What happens when the tuition freeze expires, according to Governor O’Malley, “eventually [the rates] will have to go up… There’s nothing that can stay static.” So rather then allowing the University System to gradually raise tuition, there will be one rather large increase once the freeze expires. This does not seem fair, but it is this common place thinking in Annapolis that has resulted in the budgetary mess our state now faces.
