Happy Holidays, Maryland. Now bend over.
In the wee hours of the morning, the Maryland legislature stuck it to Maryland taxpayers with a $1.4B tax hike according to the Washington Post;
Before adjourning at 2:36 a.m., lawmakers had sent two bills needed to execute a referendum on slots to Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), as well as another two tax bills and a measure to offer health insurance to 100,000 poor and uninsured adults without Medicaid coverage.
Lawmakers also approved legislation directing O’Malley to trim spending in next year’s budget by about $550 million, including slowing the growth in education spending.
“You’ve got to give Governor O’Malley a lot of credit for going out and, in essence, leading with his chin,” said House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel), who advised against holding the high-stakes session. “The governor took it all on his shoulders, and the legislature pretty much followed. . . . We’ve basically, in my estimate, taken a full legislative year of work and condensed it into 20 days.”
Yeah, real fricken brave. How hard is it to just tell taxpayers to pay more rather than skim off the fat and waste in the budget?
Legislation expected to be given final passage before adjournment included increases in sales, corporate income, tobacco and vehicle titling taxes, as well as an overhaul of the personal income tax system that would result in high-end earners paying more.
To their credit, Maryland Republicans aren’t mincing their words;
“Common sense and reason went out the window just to give the governor a victory,” said Senate Minority Leader David R. Brinkley (R-Frederick). “I think this whole thing has been a debacle, and taxpayers are stuck holding the bill.”
Well, Marylanders that’s what we get – toss out a Republican governor who had a year-over-year surplus in the budget and bring in a known incompetent weasel from Baltimore who has squandered that surplus and adds “a measure to offer health insurance to 100,000 poor and uninsured adults without Medicaid coverage”. I’d like to see a roster of these poor souls.
Time for me to move to Virginia, I suppose.
UPDATE: Tons of thanks to Michele Malkin for linking to me again. Updated story posted here.
Category: Politics
[…] Jonn Lilyea puts it another way: “Happy Holidays, Maryland. Now bend over.” Posted in: Democrats Send to a Friend Printer Friendly comments (0) trackbacks (0) […]
This state already is extremely expensive to live in. These hikes make it well nigh impossible!
Keep in mind I moved here two years ago from Michigan, another Dem state. Md.housing is more than
double, (we rent, buying would be foolish) food more, gas more, consumer items more, and taxes
substantially higher. Thank christ my wife and myself pull in enough to scrape by. The salary
we pull would make us considerably comfortable back home, but here, we scrape from payday to
payday. Ridiculous. We will definitely not stay.
Jonn wrote: I feel ya. We moved to DC almost nine years ago and then to Maryland last year to escape the taxes and crime. Now the taxes and crime are following us. I thought Maryland had learned their lesson with Glendenning – I was wrong. O’Malley and the Democrats in the legislature just shot themselves in the foot – watch the working Marylanders flee. Retirees can no longer afford to stay, either.Â
Problem is, Democrats, who DON’T want to pay these higher taxes, WILL pack up and move to Virginia, bringing their votes with them! Soon, Virginia (where I live) is going to be looking down the business end of a tax increase. Liberals are often like locusts, consuming everything in their path and then moving on.
Hey, the welcome mat is out in my home in Clay Co., TN. We have one of the cleanest lakes in the country, Dale Hollow Lake, low taxes (no state income tax), low crime (no murders in about 50 years), beautiful wooded land in the Upper Cumberland Plateau, 1 1/2 hours from Nashville, 2 hours from Knoxville. Yes, we are a poor county but we are looking to grow with retirees from the north. A great place to start a business.
Y’all come, you hear.
Jonn wrote: I appreciate the offer, Sandra, but that’s a long commute or, as ya’all say in Tennessee, “it’s a fur piece”.