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Balance is overrated

Originally Published in the Frederick News-Post

Economic & Fiscal Policy

by Marta Hummel Mossburg

OP-EDS

Gov. Martin O'Malley and those who support raising taxes to bridge the $1 billion state budget gap refer to their plan as a "balanced approach." It's as if they were yoga instructors and Maryland residents practitioners of deep breathing and stretching exercises that made them more healthy and robust.

Sloppy, obtuse language is a constant in one-party Maryland. But it is striking that even the state's business newspaper, The Daily Record, would buy into the government lexicon.

Last week, in the editorial "Keeping our balance," the paper called Republican state Sen. E.J. Pipkin's repudiation of tax increases "the kind of knee-jerk reaction that has contributed to the paralyzing deadlock in Washington that led to near default and downgrading of the nation's credit. It is not helpful and it is not constructive."

Since when is growing government the "knee-jerk" correct response to solve our ills? It's as if those who have differing opinions should be dismissed as lunatics before they are allowed to make an argument. Not only is The Daily Record's editorial position intellectually dishonest, it is the reason Washington, Maryland and other states around the country face the potential loss of the entitlement state as we know it. Making government too big to pay for is the essence of our problem -- not whether we can get a good interest rate on our debt. Making it even larger will not solve our fiscal problems, it will only exacerbate them and speed our demise.

What Maryland needs more than ever is for voices of dissent to be given a wide hearing for their views. Establishment Maryland is bankrupting us, no matter how slick the words that cover up its record. The members of that team have also branded Maryland nationally as a liege of the federal government that repels capital and people. So many businesses have left Maryland in recent years, it is hard to keep track. Celsion Corp., a biotech company in Columbia, is one of the latest to announce its departure.

Besides, if higher taxes made the state richer and created more job opportunities, why are more people leaving Maryland than coming? And why is Maryland one of the worst states at creating jobs? If taxing millionaires at a higher rate was such a great idea, why were there fewer of them after the new tax rate went into effect? If high property taxes attracted investment, why does Baltimore have 40,000 vacant homes? Last, if higher taxes solve budget problems, why will they be raised once again a few short years after sales, corporate and income taxes were hiked? Where did all of that new revenue go?

The emperor's clothes are becoming increasingly threadbare. Gov. Martin O'Malley and those who carry his water can wait until they are fully naked or they can start analyzing the results of states like Texas, the biggest job generator in the nation, and Wisconsin, whose localities are saving tens of millions of dollars this year as a result of restricting collective bargaining rights.