In Maryland The Taxes Just Keep On Coming
Jan 8, 2012 Political
The People’s Republic of Maryland is wealthy. It has counties surrounding DC and many of the wealthy folks who do business in DC live in Maryland. The economic impact of job loss has not hurt Maryland as badly as other states for this very reason; a lot of Marylanders are employed by the federal government.
Maryland is also a bastion of liberal lunacy. The State Legislature has a huge Democrat majority and the Congressional delegation is heavily Democrat. At the state level the Democrats continue to push liberal tax and spend policies that hurt the state which has seen its population of millionaires dwindle as these folks leave for states that are more tax friendly.
When Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich was in office (the first Republican in decades) he proposed slots parlors as a way to make money for the state. This was pooh poohed by Democrats as bad policy and not the way to make money. Current Democrat Governor Martin “The Teflon Leprechaun” O’Malley was singing along with the chorus.
When O’Malley defeated Ehrlich the tune changed and suddenly slots was a great idea. The morons in Annapolis placed the issue on the ballot for referendum which stupidly added it to the State Constitution. They were too cowardly to enact it as legislation because they wanted to be able to claim they did not do it when those opposed to slots complained.
Regardless, the measure passed and nearly eight years after Ehrlich proposed slots, they were in Maryland. The state lost slots revenue all that time because of politics.
Now there are two parlors operating (with more to come) and they are bringing in more than 10 million dollars a month (think about all that lost revenue because of politics).
Event though the parlors bring in this revenue the state has still raised taxes. Two years ago there was a special session where taxes were raised across the board. The sales tax went up 20%, the income tax was raised on higher income workers, all kinds of services were taxed or had tax increases and once again the citizens got screwed. Interestingly, people must have found ways to avoid the taxes because revenue decreased or was not what they expected.
The state has a history of misappropriating funds. The Transportation Fund was raped by legislators in order to pay other bills. Transportation projects still needed to be paid for but the money that was dedicated to them was spent on other things like social welfare programs, many of which go to illegal aliens. The state held public meetings about proposed toll increases along Maryland’s many toll roads. Despite overwhelming opposition from the public, the state increased the tolls.
Now the state wants to raise the tax on gasoline by 15 cents a gallon (a 65% increase). The state is proposing to phase in a tax increase on a commodity that the state already heavily taxes. They claim they need to increase funds for the transportation projects and they promise the funds will not be used for anything else. The reality is that they already had the funds and they spent them on something else. They are effectively trying to make us pay twice for the same thing. We paid in and they had the money, they spent it on something else and now they want us to pay in again. It is certainly easier for these clowns to misappropriate money from a needed fund to pay for things the public might not favor and to force us to pay again into the necessary fund then it is to sell increasing our taxes to cover things like more social welfare and tuition and health care for illegal aliens.
The state is also considering raising the already ridiculously high cost of registering vehicles, the flush tax (money to help the Chesapeake Bay that we all pay as part of our water bill), and increases in bus and rail fees (the state has also raised the tax on alcoholic beverages). The state has misappropriated money and spent unwisely and now is looking to gouge its citizens.
Where is all the slots money going? Why do we have increases in taxes and fees (fees are taxes) and why do we continue to have a bloated budget each and every year? It is because Maryland is fiscally irresponsible and instead of actually cutting things that have no place in government it chooses to view more money coming in as an excuse to spend even more. Rather than balance the budget based on its current revenue and by cutting unneeded services the state would rather dig into the pockets of those who work for a living.
They continue to spend, spend, spend and they are reckless in how they manage money. There are tons of dollars spent that keep people in poverty and force the rest of us to fund their lives. We pay for their medical care, their welfare, their food stamps, their government provided cell phones (a right you know) and their very existence so that Democrats can continue to rely on a particular block of voters.
When you rob Peter to pay Paul you can always count on Paul’s support. That is what Democrats in Maryland (and really across the country) do and this is why Maryland keeps electing corrupt morons to run the state.
People are fed up with tax and spend policies. There are necessary costs associated with government and those expenses should be borne by all people represented by that government. The balance of the things government assumes as a responsibility are not in their lane and should be abolished. Smaller government where everyone has, as Joe Biden called it, skin in the game is the most effective way to run things.
How many people have to shop in tax friendly states or buy their gas across the border before the legislature in Maryland realizes that taxing us to death will not solve the problem of fiscal irresponsibility and misappropriation?
It is time for people to fight back. It is time to let politicians in Annapolis know that they back the proposals of the lame duck Governor at their own peril.
We need fiscal responsibility from people who actually know what they are doing. That would exclude those who have lived their lives off the backs of others, like the very politicians in Annapolis.
We have been Taxed Enough Already and it is time for Marylanders to use every legal method to avoid the taxes imposed by the tyrannical government that is imposing its will on the people. Shop in other states, buy gas in other states, buy alcohol in other states and buy your tobacco in other states (though I don’t condone the use it is a legal product) and look to the Internet to buy things and have them delivered.
There are many legal ways to cut the head off the snake.
Time to get a sharp knife and do just that.
Related:
WJZ (CBS) Baltimore
Maryland Slots Revenue
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: annapolis, fiscal irresponsibility, gas tax, legislature, lies, malfeasance, Maryland, misappropriation, O'Malley, slots, transportation fund
Well Maryland, You Asked For It
Jan 6, 2011 Political
The People’s Republic of Maryland decided that it would like to have slot machines to increase revenue to the state. Former Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich introduced the idea but the Democratically controlled legislature failed to approve slot machines saying that gambling was no way to balance budgets. Some were opposed to gambling in general so each time the measure was introduced, it failed.
The state operates a number of lottery games but somehow slots were bad.
Once Martin O’Malley defeated Ehrlich and a Democrat was back in control the idea of slots was not such a bad one. Even O’Malley, who opposed slots when Ehrlich was governor, liked the idea and touted slots as a needed venture.
The Democrats in the legislature decided that they did not want to be on record as voting for slots so instead of legislating them they put the matter before the people in the form of a referendum. The people were not allowed to vote via referendum on the issue of taxes, which Democrats raised to historic levels, but the issue of slots was a different story.
At the time I commented that putting the matter to referendum was insane because the measure would become part of the state Constitution. The people passed the measure and the state Constitution had slots as part of it. I did not like this idea because the slot parlors would have to be in the locations spelled out in the Constitution and any change would have to go to referendum. If the legislature would have enacted slots via the legislative process then any changes could be made the same way.
There have been issues with the process and so far only two slots locations have opened (five were authorized).
Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos has decided that he would like to buy the Rosecroft racetrack which is not operating and is going through bankruptcy. He would like to open it and put slots there.
There are a few problems that need to be addressed. Angelos is the owner of a Major League Baseball Team and Major League rules say that team owners cannot own gambling entities. Since Angelos is an attorney and runs one of the major law firms here I am sure he has that angle taken care of.
The real problem is that Rosecroft racetrack is NOT on the list of authorized locations for slots. This means, as I pointed out when this was first discussed, the change must be done via referendum. The next time that can take place is November of 2012. Angelos wants to have things taken care of by December of 2012.
In Annapolis this morning, Senate President Mike Miller told WBAL News that the Angelos offer is”a win-win” for Maryland racing. However, he is not sure if lawmakers would agree to let Rosecroft have a slots license. Miller also points out that any license for Rosecroft or any other slots parlor would have to be approved in a referendum vote, and the earliest that could take place is November, 2012. [via the linked article]
Will Angelos take the chance and buy the racetrack when voters might reject the placement of slots there? If the measure is rejected he will be stuck with a racetrack that went bankrupt because it did not attract gamblers. Slots were originally discussed to beef up the ailing horse race industry and they might help Rosecroft greatly.
But Angelos would have to buy the place now and hope that voters allow Rosecroft to have slot machines and that depends on the legislature putting the matter on the ballot.
If the legislature had done this through the legislative process then they could use that very process, right now, to add Rosecroft and allow Angelos piece of mind.
This kind of nonsense from cowards in elected office stymies growth and hinders development.
And I called this from day one.
As an aside, the first slots parlor to open is about five miles from my house but I refuse to play slots in Maryland so I have not gambled there. Gambling was bad when a Republican wanted it so it must still be bad even though a Democrat decided it was A-OK. I have been there to eat and the food is good. I recommend it if you get the chance.
I rarely play slot machines but when I do Delaware gets my business.
Thanks to a bunch of cowards in the Maryland General Assembly whose chickens have come home to roost.
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: constitution, legislature, Maryland, peter angelos, referendum, slots