Barry Rascovar Gives an A for Failure
by Big Dog on Dec 22, 2007 at 14:44 Political
Barry Rascovar of the Gazette in Maryland has given his annual grade to our new Governor Martin O’Malley (MOM). The grade is an A – minus, a little better than the B he awarded Governor Ehrlich in his first term. The major difference in the grade seems to be that Rascovar is happy that MOM raised taxes, in fact the largest in the state’s history, and that MOM did this in an effort to tackle a tough budget deficit. Rascovar indicated that Ehrlich did not do this and he was a bit less mature in his first year. I can’t imagine this is true given MOM’s propensity to cry and whine about everything but let us look at what he did to earn that A.
MOM blew a 2 billion dollar surplus left to him by Ehrlich, mostly to pay off his political backers, and then he called a special session of the legislature to address the budget problem. Rather than reduce spending and cutting waste, the Democratically controlled legislature voted to raise taxes so high they will burden everyone in the state regardless of income. The issue of slots, one that was dead for Ehrlich so as to deny him the success, is now going to go before voters and many of the tax issues are tied to the slots bill being implemented. The legislature left this to the people because they were too cowardly to tackle it themselves. I wonder why we were not allowed to vote on whether our taxes should be raised as well.
Barry Rascovar probably would have given a higher grade but, to him, MOM did not go deep enough into our pockets. He, according to Rascovar, should have raised gas taxes and indexed that to inflation. Of course, the tax would never go down, it would stay the same or increase. There is fairness for you. Rascovar thinks this would have raised more money for social programs, as if we do not waste enough money on them now.
MOM raised taxes when we are getting ready for a down turn and when the values of homes are declining. He raised taxes during a period when home foreclosures are at an all time high due to people lacking the intelligence or experience to make good decisions. Barry Rascovar seems to think that these taxes are going to be wonderful and fix everything when, in fact, they will actually stifle growth and will cause people who can afford to, to leave the state for more friendly neighboring states.
The tax increases, on top of the 75% electric rate increase (one MOM promised to stop) will mean hard times for many families. This earns an A from Rascovar who must have some sadistic desire to see people suffer. However, this is typical liberalism. Cause as much pain as possible and then allow the government to swoop in and promise to fix it. Get reelected and cause more pain. It is a viscous cycle that keeps repeating because people are not smart enough to see how badly the Democrats are hurting them.
Of course, MOM comes from Baltimore City where the schools were the lowest performing in the state. He is used to leading unintelligent people who do not have the knowledge to change their circumstances. As long as these people exist there will be people like MOM in charge.
Barry Rascovar might just be in line to head the school board. His grading system, one that rewards for failure, is right in line with MOM’s philosophical views. What this state does not need is a bunch of unthinking, unintelligent dimwits running around making decisions about the future of the state.
We already have that in our legislature, in MOM, and in the toady reporters who lick their boots.
How does shoe leather taste Barry?
Remember those who voted to increase your taxes when they ask for your vote…
Tags: gazette, O'Malley, rascovar, report card, taxes