A Sales Tax ON TOP OF a gasoline tax??? Seriously, Marty???

Marty O'Malley never ceases to amaze me.

Not only is he the biggest wastrel this state has seen since the late William Donald Schaefer, he makes Schaefer look like a piker, and that is pretty hard to do.

Gasoline taxes, which sit at 23 cents/gallon currently (last raised by the said Schaefer in the 1990s), are somewhere in the middle of the list of state gasoline taxes. Several neighboring states have raised theirs since the Bush/Obama recession started.  Their normal purpose is to provide funds for new roads, repair of existing roads, and even helping mass transit.

Except, of course, in Maryland.  For more than the last decade (including the only Republican governor the state has had in 40 years), administrations have routinely raided the "Transportation Trust Fund" to fill holes in the state's budget, moving them into the General Fund, and going for current expenses.  Like the Social Security "Trust Fund," there are plenty of IOUs in both the Transportation Trust Fund and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation Trust Fund that will never be reimbursed.  Not that other states haven't borrowed from theirs, but O'Malley has turned it into an art form.

When Marty and his cronies first came into office in 2007, they quickly went on a hiring and spending spree, even depleting the Rainy Day Fund to its lowest level permitted by law.  It boggled the mind.  He (read WE) paid for huge salary increases for some of his political appointees in high positions,  hired a large staff to cater to the Governor's needs, and made sure his buddies got well paid off with state contracts and jobs.  One of those includes a cushy job for his father-in-law, the former state Attorney General--a position Joe Curran still holds, and he even retained a chef on staff in the Governor's Mansion 24/7, just in case he gets a little hungry.  Tough life, ain't it?  RHIP, I guess.

When it was obvious that we were heading into a major recession, he browbeat the General Assembly to raise the sales tax from 5% to 6% along with other tax and fee increases (which he hammered the former governor for doing in the 2006 campaign), this despite the strong opposition from his Comptroller, Peter Franchot. 

Comptroller Franchot argued that you don't raise taxes while we're starting to go into a recession.  I have a great deal of respect for him because, as a Delegate, he was one of the more liberal members of the House.  However, as Comptroller, he has been a fiscal hawk--he gets it.  Franchot warned that the revenue estimates from the sales tax increase were not realistic.  One year after the sales tax went into effect, Maryland's sales tax revenues dropped by $76 Million.

Maybe good old Marty has never heard of oh, I dunno, DELAWARE ("Home of Tax-Free Shopping") or Pennsylvania and New Jersey, who don't tax sales of clothing and shoes.

There's almost nowhere in this state that is further away from any other state border than 40 miles, a real quick trip when you want to shop for a number of items.  People simply shopped in another state.  Who'd'a thunk it?  Comptroller Franchot did, but his was the voice in the desert.

When Obama came into office and lavishly spread the "stimulus funds,"  Marty latched onto them like a drunk at last call.  Did this mean we used the funds to plan for the future?  No, of course not.  Time to increase spending, even though we're deep into a recession!  When that federal teat dried up, even though he knew it would beforehand, he showed major surprise and began furloughing State workers, making them take scheduled days off as an unpaid long weekend.

After several years, Governor O'Malley finally realizes that there are major traffic problems in the State (can we say DC Beltway Inner Loop from the American Legion Bridge to US 1 in afternoon rush?), but there are no funds to be found in the Transportation Trust Fund to cover them.  Rather than transfer funds back into the Trust Fund, he whines that you can't get a $100 Million bridge for just $10 Million, and something must be done.

So, he and his budget wunderkinds get the bright idea that the gas tax needs to be raised 15 cents per gallon over the next 3 years.  When that went over like a lead balloon, they changed the proposal to removing the sales tax exemption on gasoline and impose the full 6% sales tax on the entire purchase.  What an improvement!!

I'm certainly hoping this is a false flag--a proposal made that's so outlandish that something more reasonable will be enacted.

Although I'm not in favor of doing anything right now with the gas tax, what with the high cost right now, I wouldn't want to see any proposal pass unless it is tied to a Constitutional amendment putting the Transportation Trust Fund and Chesapeake Bay Trust Funds in an Al Gore-style lockbox.  We could vote on it this coming fall, and measures have already been introduced into the Assembly to do just that.

The real answer, though, is to cut spending and bring the budget back under control.  Comptroller Peter Franchot gets it.  Marty O' never will.

Unintended Consequences of MD Slots?

Back in November 2008, you almost would've forgotten that there was a presidential election going on in this state. Why? After all, at 8:00:01, you *knew* Obama had 10 electoral votes.

Megabucks (and not the multi-state lottery game) were being spent by both sides trying to convince us to either approve or shoot down a Constitutional amendment to permit Video Lottery Terminals (slots) gaming in our dear state.

It's funny how in 2003, when Bob Ehrlich (R) was governor, Mike Busch (D) couldn't see his way to permitting slots in the state. It was a horrible idea, and we didn't need them, and all sorts of evil would befall the state if we were to allow them. And, for 4 years, we didn't get slots.

Fast forward to 2007, now Martin O'Malley (D) is governor, and the economy is starting to go to hell in a handbasket. O'Malley called a Special Session and Speaker Busch jumped right in line saying that, hey, the economy was bad, and slots would now be good.

Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), a slots opponent all along, to his credit, said that he still thought it was a bad idea. I'm not going to rehash all the arguments, the election is over. (Whew!)

However, I gotta tell you, it's not the lottery terminals I had a problem with. It's the METHOD of bringing them to Maryland that stunk. Those who opposed the amendment will be able to point out next year that the slots, which will just possibly be coming online, are not going to live up to the promises made, and may organize to oust the rascals that voted to put the question to the voters. Can I help?

You see, if the Assembly had grown a pair, they could have simply passed a bill authorizing slots and the parlors could be well under construction or even open right now. There really was no need to amend the Constitution to do it. The bill could not have been sent to referendum because, under the Constitution, it is a "revenue bill," and, therefore, not referrable.

I did mention unintended consequences, right? Back in 2002, I was spending an evening at the Charles Town Races and Slots in West Virginia. They had just begun construction on a new garage and expanded gaming floor, and I had the chance to speak to a security guard. He told me that they hoped that MD would pass slots in 2003. Why? Because the WV General Assembly would be ready to consider adding table games in their state. Now that slots are also in Pennsylvania, how soon do you think they can pass it?

Cool! No more 2-1/2 hour drive to Atlantic City to have to deal with their attitude. No more 5 hour flights to Vegas, where western hospitality was a lot of fun, but the jet lag sucks. We may soon go to WV and get it all there!

Full Disclosure: I have gambled in slot parlors in PA, DE, WV, and other states, and will likely also do so in MD. I have no problems if an adult wants to spend some of his entertainment money playing slots. But, in the end, I also voted "AGAINST" the amendment.