So how do you Democrats feel about this?

[saddlemount]

O'Malley, YOUR elected governor, is raising the state sales tax to six percent among other things.

Legislative session yields wins and losses for state, business leaders say - Baltimore Business Journal:

The knife cuts even deeper for those of us who run small businesses (and by the way employ Maryland residents), as we're hit with the double whammy of an increased corporate tax.

 

[vraiblonde]

They feel what MOM tells them to feel:

We did it.

During the past three weeks, working with the General Assembly, we achieved more than anyone thought possible - and more than many governments achieve in four years. We passed a fair, long-term solution to the inherited $1.7 billion structural deficit, and we got Maryland back to the business of making progress.

I'm grateful to Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Mike Busch for their determined and effective leadership. And I appreciate the hard work of so many legislators who took responsibility for getting Maryland back on a fiscally responsible course.

It's hard to believe how much we accomplished in less than a month. We:

Protected our investment in education and helped keep college tuition affordable.
Made our tax system fairer by providing an income tax cut for middle class families - to offset the penny sales tax increase - and closing corporate loopholes.
Cut spending by $550 million - on top of $280 million in cuts earlier this year.
Passed a law to make healthcare more affordable for small businesses - and to provide coverage for 100,000 more Marylanders.
Created the Chesapeake Bay 2010 Trust Fund - to take the next steps needed to save the Bay.
Invested in transportation - to reduce traffic and protect our quality of life.
And finally settled the slots issue - that has gridlocked our government for years - by letting the people decide in a referendum.
You should be proud of your legislators for coming together to solve a very difficult problem. Together, we've made significant progress on the goals that unite us: to strengthen and grow our middle class and family-owned businesses; to improve public safety and public education; and to expand opportunity - with affordable healthcare, affordable tuition and a healthy Chesapeake Bay.

We still have a lot of work to do during the upcoming legislative session - and during the years to come. But we've proven that Maryland's government can come together, find consensus and move our state forward.

Thank you for your help moving Maryland forward. And if you would like to contact your legislators to thank them for their leadership during this special session, you can reach them at: Who Are Your Elected Officials in Maryland?.

Sincerely,

Martin O'Malley
Governor

 

[jenbengen]

They feel what MOM tells them to feel:

 

[Toxick]

They feel what MOM tells them to feel:

OMFG!

A cheek-bulging mouth full of puke came up... and me with nowhere to spit it. I had to choke it back down, which was almost - but not quite - as hard as choking down that article.




My eyes are all watery now.

 

[aps45819]

Cut spending by $550 million

how does not increasing taxes by an aditional $550 mil on top of the $1.something BILLION increase equal a tax cut?

 

[Pete]

See to the normal person when you are at home and are faced with a "deficit" the last word ANY of us would utter when discussing our budget problem would be "expand".

How the hell can you scream from one side of your soup sipper "We have a deficit!" then out of the other side mumble "expand medicare" "expand the save the bay funds"

It is all bullchit anyway. Maryland has no damn money. It is a "projected shortfall". They have no damn clue if it will be, or if it is how much. they just spend away and hope.

So what they are going to do now is hike the tax on everything that moves to the point it hurts. Then in 18 months when the shortfall either never materializes or is much smaller than they "guessed" they will be touting how smart they are and how they now have a surplus they are going to spend on "us" in the form of expanded budgets, and new programs that will soon bloat and cost more because they are now in place and MUST be funded forever.

In reality what they are doing is making the atmosphere for business and residences so costly and aggravating people will stop spending, find alternatives and in the end revenue will decrease. Ask Maine about the businesses that used to be in Maine that packed up and left after they taxed the living shiat out of them and strangled them with the most communist Workman's comp laws this side of Stalingrad.

 

[Gigi]

He inherited the problem from former governers... Of both parties... Don't like it at all but, it has to be fixed.. You cannot keep spending and not have a way to pay for these expenses... First they need to cut out all the excess spending and we all know they are wasting our tax payer money on stupid things... They should also make the rich folks pay their fair share instead of giving them places to hide their money.. Alot could be done and no one has balls enough to do it... JMO

 

[saddlemount]

Thank you for your help moving Maryland forward. And if you would like to contact your legislators to thank them for their leadership during this special session, you can reach them at: Who Are Your Elected Officials in Maryland?.

Thank them my arse. What do these knuckleheads gain by either (a) driving businesses out Maryland (note they're adding a 6% tax on computer services in addition to the sales tax and increased corporate tax), or (b) forcing them to cut costs by laying off Maryland residents and outsourcing labor offshore? Who's left to pay MOM then?

By the way, I DID contact our illustrious leaders and stated exactly what I just said. Not a single reply from anyone. And I'm listening real hard for someone other than our idiot democratic lawmakers to step up and say they're happy about the tax increases.

 

[saddlemount]

Don't like it at all but, it has to be fixed

Yea, it does have to be fixed. My car leaks oil and that needs fixing too. I guess the democratic "fix" is to keep buying more oil. I think it makes more sense to stop the leak, but hey what do I know..

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

6% Sales Tax

I don't see the big deal. :shrug:

Most states I've been to have a 6% sales tax or higher. So, you're going to be paying 2 cents more in taxes on a t-shirt.

I don't agree with raising ANY taxes and am upset they did so, but it doesn't look like the sales tax increase was that substantial.

State legislators approved a 1.25 percent increase in the corporate income tax, greater than O'Malley's original proposal.

Sounds like you guys need to be madder at the legislature than O'Malley.

What are state taxes compared to federal taxes anyway? 1/3?

I know I'll get more red for being a leftwing type liberal Democrat tard and whatever else y'all are gonna say, they're all the same; but quit whining.

Maryland won't pay into the school system because they don't have enough money. That excuse is gone now, the real measurement of Gov. O'Malley is coming.

Give him a chance and see what, if anything, changes. If things change for the better, great, I'll be glad to pay a little more into the system. If things remain the same, then THROW THEIR AZZES OUT OF OFFICE!

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

They feel what MOM tells them to feel:

I guess I'm attacking MOM's letter, but didn't Ehrlich want slot machines in Maryland and the Dumbocrats wouldn't allow it. My how things have changed.

My stepfather's a small business owner. He pays an arm and a leg for health insurance. If MD can bring the cost of insurance for small business' down, GREAT, more power to them.

Invested in transportation - to reduce traffic and protect our quality of life.

Wasn't the 301 Bypass supposed to do that?

They'll NEVER, and I mean NEVER, reduce traffic or make traffic less congested in Waldorf. Waldorf's still growing at a rapid pace, and there's still plenty of trees that can be cut down and turned into homes.

 

[ImnoMensa]

The things they cut is money to the Counties. Then the counties will have to raise taxes. That lets MOM sy he cut taxes when he didnt really do chit.

 

[aps45819]

He inherited the problem from former governers... Of both parties... .. You cannot keep spending and not have a way to pay for these expenses... First they need to cut out all the excess spending and we all know they are wasting our tax payer money on stupid things... They should also make the rich folks pay their fair share instead of giving them places to hide their money..

MoM inherited a surplus
Evidently they can keep spending
Congratulations! you're one of the "rich people" that will now be paying more for everything

 

[AndyMarquisLIVE]

The things they cut is money to the Counties. Then the counties will have to raise taxes. That lets MOM sy he cut taxes when he didnt really do chit.

They cut money to Charles County 2 years ago. Doesn't really matter.

Like I've said before, only time will tell.

If the Democrats don't get chit done, you'll see a very pizzed off Andy Marquis. If they do, more power to them.

Only time will tell.

 

[itsbob]

He inherited the problem from former governers... Of both parties... Don't like it at all but, it has to be fixed.. You cannot keep spending and not have a way to pay for these expenses... First they need to cut out all the excess spending and we all know they are wasting our tax payer money on stupid things... They should also make the rich folks pay their fair share instead of giving them places to hide their money.. Alot could be done and no one has balls enough to do it... JMO

So how did the surplus that Erhlich left turn into "inherited $1.7 billion structural deficit" in a YEAR!??

Does 'structural' mean made up in Demoncrat speak??

 

[itsbob]

The answer is that “structural deficit” is simply terminology used to describe a situation in which our political leadership seeks to spend more money than it brings in via tax and fee revenue. Yet, because they are the one’s controlling the spending, there is really nothing structural about the deficit; it’s a deficit of choice. To put it bluntly, the “structural deficit” is merely an excuse dreamed up by the political leadership in lieu of reforming the way the state spends taxpayer money.

Also being used in Illinois! Where ever you can find a democrat you can find Structural Deficit..

 

[ImnoMensa]

This letter MOM wrote is simply an attempt to shine a tennis shoe.

 

[SamSpade]

Also being used in Illinois! Where ever you can find a democrat you can find Structural Deficit..

Saw something about this in the Southern Maryland insert in the Sunday Post. Someone wrote in to claim "hey there never WAS a surplus" because of this built-in shortfall - that every year, their budget spends more than 600 million more than they take in. The schmuck then goes on to say that while claiming to have made a surplus, it just got spent on balancing out the 2007 and 2008 budgets.

Well hoo-fu**ing-ray. SOMEbody actually balanced a budget without raising taxes. So MOM raises taxes, cuts payments to counties and pats himself on the back?

You know, this is the thing about government that always p!sses me off. See, anywhere else in the world - the private sector - you can't just raise revenue by reaching into consumer's pockets and taking it. You have to balance your own budget or you go broke. The market - and competitors - won't let you jack up the price on everything so you get more money. As consumers, you don't have to buy something if they start charging too much - you can tell them 'screw you' and buy something else.

Imagine what life would be like if you could tell the government to go screw themselves when they decide to take more of your money rather than live within their means - you know, like the rest of us have to do.

Yeah, big surprise - every other November, you can. You DON'T VOTE FOR THESE GUYS. I can't believe there's actually an argument here that goes "well some other states have sales taxes more than that". That's true, some have slightly more - some have NONE. I don't think anyone thinks the tax burden in Maryland is typical.

I've just always been disgusted by any elected official essentially grabbing someone else's money and giving it to another to secure their vote. It's the old saying "if you have to rob Peter to pay Paul - you can always count on Paul's vote".

 

[Lenny]

Saw something about this in the Southern Maryland insert in the Sunday Post. Someone wrote in to claim "hey there never WAS a surplus" because of this built-in shortfall - that every year, their budget spends more than 600 million more than they take in. The schmuck then goes on to say that while claiming to have made a surplus, it just got spent on balancing out the 2007 and 2008 budgets.

Del. Murray Levy (D, La Plata) wrote that letter in the Friday Maryland Independent. I had to stop from throwing the cat against the wall when I read that chit. The message Levy didn't say was that MOM had the opportunity in 2007 and 2008 to NOT spend the money in the surplus but he spent it anyway. So squandering of the surplus lies flat in MOM's lap (along with the rest of the 'crats who run this miserable state)

 

[awpitt]

SOMEbody actually balanced a budget without raising taxes. So MOM raises taxes, cuts payments to counties and pats himself on the back?

Yea, Bob balanced his last budget by borrowing against future budgets. That's jsut as bad, if not worse, than raising taxes.