O'MALLEY ARRIVES AT THE EMERALD CITY FOR A SPECIAL SESSION IN "OZ"! Gov. O'Malley has now completed his quixotic journey in Maryland, promising no pain and more money to fund Maryland's deficit (covered in citybizlist commentary October 5 : "O'Malley on the Yellow Brick Road").

Unlike the real "Wizard of Oz", there has been no delay in discovering who is pulling the cord behind the curtain of Maryland's charming "wizard". It is no other than Maryland's real carnival huckster and behind the scenes "decider" of all things General Assembly, Senate President Mike Miller, aided and abetted by House Speaker Michael Busch! Instead of the Emerald City, we are being greeted by a special session (at taxpayers' expense) of the General Assembly of Maryland!

In the actual land of Oz, the Kansas carnival huckster found that his balloon took the Kansas travellers, compliments of a Midwest hurricane, to a land called Oz. And, there the analogy to Maryland may end. There will be no silver shoes clicked together by a girl named Dorothy, or a fast trip home for her and the other Kansas taxpayers. Instead, in Maryland, under the facade of single Democratic party harmony, comes 2 to 4 weeks of special session wrangling, beginning October 29 --just 2 days before Halloween.

In the Free State, the "land of Oz" is now in the Senate and House chambers where words tend to overshadow the reality of Maryland's budget deficit of nearly 2 billion dollars. What is interesting is the contrast with the last special session in 2005. Miller, a strong advocate of non-stop lawsuits driving doctors out of Maryland, killed a proposal by then Gov. Erhlich to assist patient access to healthcare by reducing unlimited fees to trial lawyers in an attempt to steady malpractice insurance premiums in Maryland. Out of that special session, the General Assembly invoked State subsidy as the answer, avoiding limits on lawyer percentages of amounts awarded plaintiffs .

Now the "land of Oz" has gotten bigger, and there is more of a "puppet" atmosphere surrounding the charming Wizard Governor. But reports of yesterday's special announcement by the Governor shine a dim light on the outcome of the early gathering of the Legislature. For year 5, the magic of slots being offered to generate $550 million to offset a $1.7 billion deficit which O'Malley contends he inherited, had no real action to curtail State spending since a year ago when the platitude of "one Maryland" was sung by candidates for office.

Now, the chickens are coming home to roost. What are those chickens? Per the O'Malley dance down Maryland's Yellow Brick Road, some definitions are: slots, as well as taxes on income that allegedly will only hit the "filthy rich". This is left deliberately fuzzy as to its impact upon small business and wage earners, already being zapped by a syndrome of no comment on the progressive income tax and its impact on those in the middle to lower-middle income brackets .

The politicians seem to be diverting attention from the real problem of government bureaucracy being unable to limit itself. Instead, we now have the diversion of a "people's referendum" on whether or not there will be slots in our tax future. Mike Miller sees this diversion as perhaps limiting the forceful control he has on what legislation goes to committee and whether bills he does not like will ever see the light of day. Miller, per the Washington Post analysis, says that O'Malley is putting deficit reduction "under the bus" by agreeing to referendum before a special session even starts .

It is interesting to watch a single party Democratic state having no convenient target (as was Gov. Erhlich) at whom to fire rockets, while Wizard O'Malley tries to convince the folks in front of the "Emerald City stage" that all is harmony and peace on the first and second floors of the State House.

It is the hidden taxes on which this Governor, as was the case with some Governors before him, will rely upon to confuse and open the door to what his Administration seems to be propounding as a new "field of dreams": tying gas tax increases to the cost of construction materials; limiting growth in the so-called "Thornton" component of education expenditures (leaving more discretion in the hands of too strong a bureaucracy dominating student learning); raising corporate income tax from 7 to 8 %; and utter silence about person al income tax levels.

Another example of a subtle issue relates to the gasoline tax. If increased, there must be a corresponding commitment to secure a better balance that uses The Transportation Trust Fund solely for transportation and, within transportation, to redress the imbalance between mass transit and the increasing repair/ construction needs of highways, roads and bridges.

Maryland may be becoming a miniature U.S. Capitol, in knowing no limits and living by "continuing Resolution " as the answer to fiscal problems. Unlike family and small businesses, where the rubber always meets the road, Governors and, yes, Presidents often live by "Mission accomplished! " when the real work is better service to taxpayers/citizens who have to balance budgets and live within our means.

Labels: Busch, Governor O'Malley, Maryland, slots

  6:31 PM •  0 Comments •

O'MALLEY ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD For the past month / even the past year, Maryland has been subjected to its version of the Wizard of Oz's yellow brick road. Instead of "we're off to see the wizard", a variety of messages come from Gov. "Wizard" O'Malley, as he travels a quixotic a campaign-like journey from a Towson housewife's kitchen to the attic window of a Baltimore tower, a stallion breeding barn, and stops along the way to "Oz".That journey is filled with promises to eliminate a $ 1.7 + billion dollar deficit begun 12 years ago, by Parris Glendenning, Maryland's non-stop, spending Governor ; a deficit which Gov. Bob Ehrlich attempted to slow down -- only to be blocked by the Miller-Busch axis in the General Assembly, 2002 - 2006.

What is this Governor's message? It depends on to whom he speaks or what media camera is pointed in his direction. The messages are all over the lot:

putting " constructive" taxes on small / mid-sized businesses who can allegedly "afford it" -- in reality, these taxes may implement the dreams of accountants/ lawyers that are translated from hidden bureaucratic maneuvers into penalizing taxes.

pledging no tax changes/ even reductions for the "little people" except at the sales counters of retail stores where thousands have to buy home and family goods;

"painting" vague descriptions of tobacco taxes that are touted to take care of most of the problem;

touting slots as being able to cut the deficit / when - for the past 5 years - the Legislature has ignored a horse breeding and racing industry, blocking any chance of controlled management of this form of gaming to a limited number of tracks ; l

promoting the gas tax as another "cure-all" to help eliminate the deficit , as the yellow brick road orator contends that this tax is not much of an addition to escalating gasoline prices -- and no move to make a gas tax be applied primarily to essential highway/ bridge maintenance , repairs.

This commentary was intended to be completed in mid-September, when there would some sign of what the Governor was going to do. I have waited for a full month for that indicator --- and there are still words,words, words! The citizens of Maryland are being reassured that all problems will be solved by 30 days of a General Assembly session.

To carry the "Wizard of Oz -- yellow brick road" analogy forward, does this mean that Wizard O'Malley is in front of a curtain with 3 "managers" behind the Governor: Senate President Mike Miller/ House Speaker Michael Busch and leftward spending leaning Comptroller Peter Franchot. Are they doing a "puppet pulling" routine?

To borrow Winston Churchill's description of appeasement Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain : Maryland's current Governor appears to be a "mystery wrapped in an enigma" : many themes, as he now indicates that a November "special session" will satisfy citizens of a State falling back into a troubling pattern : described by my long-time Maine summer friend mentored by that State's remarkable Sen. Margaret Chase Smith : 95 year old "liberal Republican" Linwood Palmer, recently asked me "if Maryland , is returning as ' a dome (the State House) with a cash register under it ' " ?

The time has come for straight talk with the citizens of Maryland and honesty about an accumulated deficit in the management of State Government. The missing link is acceptance that two essential steps must be taken : set priorities among policy choices and reduce in government waste / unnecessary spending .

Maryland's political leaders need to come forward with what they will actually do, if there is a special session. The last such session was marked by rejection of then-Governor Erhlich's attempts to put limits on lawsuit abuse that still can threaten to drive doctors out of practice in Maryland. Healthcare reform and other problems are not solved just by increase of taxes -- but by setting/implementing serious choices among competing options for the use of taxpayer money. As one small example , when will there be a shift of education spending for a large administrative bureaucracy to needed teachers given opportunity to be creative/ innovative and flexible in working with their "end product" ; the students .

Governor O'Malley , this journey is not a dance along the yellow brick road with a scarecrow, tin woodman and your background music. We are at the beginning of "truth time" --- almost a full year after your election -- during which little beyond talk has happened. The politicians must be prepared to make tough fiscal decisions ; not provide more promises along Maryland's "yellow brick road" .

Labels: budgets, Maryland, O'Malley, taxes

  9:48 PM •  0 Comments •