jetmonkey
New Member
August 28, 2012
Dear Friend,
Over the weekend, Stephen Moore, a longtime supporter of the Koch brothers and former President of Republican fundraising group, Club for Growth, penned a borderline fictional op-ed in The Wall Street Journal comparing Governor O’Malley to Virginia’s Governor McDonnell. While accusing Governor O’Malley of “cherry-picking” data, it turns out that Moore cherry-picked his facts.
Facts are facts: Governor O’Malley has cut more state spending than any governor in Maryland’s history - $8 billion. He’s protected Maryland’s Triple A Bond Rating, which is the ultimate seal of fiscal responsibility from all three rating agencies. Last year alone, his Administration protected $700 million in our rainy day fund, while securing a projected budget surplus in excess of $500 million.
The United States Chamber of Commerce - hardly a mouthpiece of the O’Malley Brown Administration -- ranks Maryland #1 in the nation for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Education Week magazine ranks Maryland’s public schools #1 in America for an unprecedented fourth year in a row.
Here are a few other things the Wall Street Journal doesn’t want you to know….
MYTH: Over the first six months of the year, Maryland has lost jobs while most of the nation has gained them.
FACT: Maryland actually gained 1,700 jobs over the first 6 months of the year while many neighboring states continued to see a decline. As a state, Maryland has recovered over two-thirds of the jobs lost during the Bush recession at the 11th fastest rate in the nation, exceeding the national recovery rate by over 20 percentage points.
MYTH: Moore claims Governor O’Malley has increased the gas tax along with the state sales tax and tobacco and alcohol taxes
FACT: The gas tax has remained unchanged during Governor O’Malley’s tenure. In fact, it has been at the same rate since 1992. Some of the other “tax increases” Moore refers to, such as increases on the tobacco and alcohol taxes have returned significant health benefits to the public. Since Governor O’Malley took office, the percentage of adults who smoke has dropped over 14%. Maryland now has the 10th fewest adult smokers in the nation according to the United Health Foundation; Virginia ranks 30th.
MYTH: Governor McDonnell inherited a $6 billion budget shortfall and has turned it into a $1 billion reserve surplus.
FACT: The claim that Mr. McDonnell inherited a $6 billion budget deficit and turned it into a $1 billion budget surplus was rated “Mostly False” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They pointed out that actions taken by previous Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) had a lot to do with the budget “surplus” enjoyed by Mr. McDonnell. During a speech in August 2010, Mr. McDonnell even personally applauded Mr. Kaine for the “…tough cuts he made in this budget prior to leaving office.”
MYTH: Mr. McDonnell has cut taxes, reduced state expenditures, and has created a business-friendly climate that has allowed Virginia to steal major corporations from Maryland.
FACT: According to a recent report by the National Association of State Budget Officers, general fund spending in Maryland decreased between FY2009 and FY2011. In Virginia, general fund spending increased by almost 10% over the same time period. Additionally, Maryland has the 8th lowest tax burden on mature businesses, the 12th lowest tax burden on new investment, and Maryland businesses have the 6th lowest tax burden as a share of GSP.
MYTH: According to the conservative group Change Maryland, 30,000 taxpayers fled the state for Virginia after Governor O’Malley raised taxes on millionaires in 2007.
FACT: Change Maryland used data that the IRS openly recognizes as incomplete to draw their erroneous conclusions. When analyzing IRS data on all completed tax returns, Maryland saw the smallest tax filer change in the region from 2007 to 2010, losing 25% fewer tax filers than Virginia. In Maryland, tax filers decreased only 5.3% from 2007 to 2010 compared to a 7.1% decrease in Virginia, an 8.5% decrease in Pennsylvania, and a 15.5% decrease in West Virginia.
FACT: Failed congressional candidate and would-be Republican candidate for governor, Larry Hogan, founded Change Maryland. Mr. Hogan was Appointments Secretary under Republican Governor, Bob Ehrlich, who lost two gubernatorial elections to Governor Martin O’Malley.
MYTH: Moore repeats the false claims made by Maryland’s Comptroller Peter Franchot, who incorrectly believes Maryland is dependent on the public sector for economic growth.
FACT: Maryland’s strong private sector is leading our job growth. In the past 12 months, Maryland’s private sector created over 96% of our 22,600 net new jobs. By comparison, Virginia’s private sector created only 82% of their net new jobs; Virginia depended on their public sector for over 11,000 of their new jobs in the past year.
To learn more about Maryland, visit this site.
Thank you,
Rick Abbruzzese
Director of Public Affairs
Dear Friend,
Over the weekend, Stephen Moore, a longtime supporter of the Koch brothers and former President of Republican fundraising group, Club for Growth, penned a borderline fictional op-ed in The Wall Street Journal comparing Governor O’Malley to Virginia’s Governor McDonnell. While accusing Governor O’Malley of “cherry-picking” data, it turns out that Moore cherry-picked his facts.
Facts are facts: Governor O’Malley has cut more state spending than any governor in Maryland’s history - $8 billion. He’s protected Maryland’s Triple A Bond Rating, which is the ultimate seal of fiscal responsibility from all three rating agencies. Last year alone, his Administration protected $700 million in our rainy day fund, while securing a projected budget surplus in excess of $500 million.
The United States Chamber of Commerce - hardly a mouthpiece of the O’Malley Brown Administration -- ranks Maryland #1 in the nation for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Education Week magazine ranks Maryland’s public schools #1 in America for an unprecedented fourth year in a row.
Here are a few other things the Wall Street Journal doesn’t want you to know….
MYTH: Over the first six months of the year, Maryland has lost jobs while most of the nation has gained them.
FACT: Maryland actually gained 1,700 jobs over the first 6 months of the year while many neighboring states continued to see a decline. As a state, Maryland has recovered over two-thirds of the jobs lost during the Bush recession at the 11th fastest rate in the nation, exceeding the national recovery rate by over 20 percentage points.
MYTH: Moore claims Governor O’Malley has increased the gas tax along with the state sales tax and tobacco and alcohol taxes
FACT: The gas tax has remained unchanged during Governor O’Malley’s tenure. In fact, it has been at the same rate since 1992. Some of the other “tax increases” Moore refers to, such as increases on the tobacco and alcohol taxes have returned significant health benefits to the public. Since Governor O’Malley took office, the percentage of adults who smoke has dropped over 14%. Maryland now has the 10th fewest adult smokers in the nation according to the United Health Foundation; Virginia ranks 30th.
MYTH: Governor McDonnell inherited a $6 billion budget shortfall and has turned it into a $1 billion reserve surplus.
FACT: The claim that Mr. McDonnell inherited a $6 billion budget deficit and turned it into a $1 billion budget surplus was rated “Mostly False” by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. They pointed out that actions taken by previous Virginia Governor Tim Kaine (D) had a lot to do with the budget “surplus” enjoyed by Mr. McDonnell. During a speech in August 2010, Mr. McDonnell even personally applauded Mr. Kaine for the “…tough cuts he made in this budget prior to leaving office.”
MYTH: Mr. McDonnell has cut taxes, reduced state expenditures, and has created a business-friendly climate that has allowed Virginia to steal major corporations from Maryland.
FACT: According to a recent report by the National Association of State Budget Officers, general fund spending in Maryland decreased between FY2009 and FY2011. In Virginia, general fund spending increased by almost 10% over the same time period. Additionally, Maryland has the 8th lowest tax burden on mature businesses, the 12th lowest tax burden on new investment, and Maryland businesses have the 6th lowest tax burden as a share of GSP.
MYTH: According to the conservative group Change Maryland, 30,000 taxpayers fled the state for Virginia after Governor O’Malley raised taxes on millionaires in 2007.
FACT: Change Maryland used data that the IRS openly recognizes as incomplete to draw their erroneous conclusions. When analyzing IRS data on all completed tax returns, Maryland saw the smallest tax filer change in the region from 2007 to 2010, losing 25% fewer tax filers than Virginia. In Maryland, tax filers decreased only 5.3% from 2007 to 2010 compared to a 7.1% decrease in Virginia, an 8.5% decrease in Pennsylvania, and a 15.5% decrease in West Virginia.
FACT: Failed congressional candidate and would-be Republican candidate for governor, Larry Hogan, founded Change Maryland. Mr. Hogan was Appointments Secretary under Republican Governor, Bob Ehrlich, who lost two gubernatorial elections to Governor Martin O’Malley.
MYTH: Moore repeats the false claims made by Maryland’s Comptroller Peter Franchot, who incorrectly believes Maryland is dependent on the public sector for economic growth.
FACT: Maryland’s strong private sector is leading our job growth. In the past 12 months, Maryland’s private sector created over 96% of our 22,600 net new jobs. By comparison, Virginia’s private sector created only 82% of their net new jobs; Virginia depended on their public sector for over 11,000 of their new jobs in the past year.
To learn more about Maryland, visit this site.
Thank you,
Rick Abbruzzese
Director of Public Affairs
