Just when you thought Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's plans to hike taxes couldn't get any worse, you find out a Senate committee has approved legislation to swindle even more money from taxpayers.
The Tax Reform Act of 2007 was passed 9-6 by the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee late Tuesday, and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, D-Calvert, said he hoped to have a vote by the full Senate by Wednesday afternoon.
"It's an excellent product," said Sen. Ulysses Currie, D-Prince George's and chairman of the committee, after Tuesday's six-hour voting session. "It's the first time we've ever stepped up and addressed the deficit."
The Tax Reform Act and the separate Budget Reconciliation Act, which passed 14-1, are part of the governor's plan to close Maryland's $1.7 billion budget shortfall.
There's so much ridiculousness in these three preceding paragraphs I hardly know where to begin. For one thing, it's a little asinine to call legislation to raise taxes a "tax reform act." Maybe Maryland politicians could refer to it as "The Gullible Voters Act of 2007," "The Taxpayer Slayer Act," or, my personal favorite, "The Maryland Ass-Rape Act," but certainly it cannot reasonably be called a tax reform act.
Furthermore, anyone who thinks this bill is an "excellent product" is quite possibly higher than Ricky Williams. However, I give Sen. Currie mad props for at least admitting that Democrats think stealing money from state residents is not just a good idea, but actually something to brag about.
Finally, according to the Maryland Public Policy Institute, former governor Bob Ehrlich had a budget surplus when left office in January. But even if his administration played fast and loose with some numbers, as many state Democrats claim, there appears to be little doubt that the budget was more or less balanced. Therefore, the only reason the state faces a $1.7 billion deficit is because Maryland Democrats have increased spending by $1.3 billion! Yes, dear taxpayers, that means Democrats -- whose actions go essentially unchecked as a result of their one-party control -- have "budgeted" programs that are unfunded.
Unlike individuals who must live fiscally responsible lives lest they go broke and suffer the consequences, the state simply jacks up tax rates, fees, and fines to cover its largesse. This is, in a word, theft.
If I want to forgo future purchasing power in order to have the luxury of enjoying something today -- i.e. buy goods on credit -- I am still responsible for paying off credit loans with my own money. Not to mention, I have to prove to a lender that I'm capable of paying my debts before I'm even loaned the money.
Not so the government, which takes money from its citizens at the point of a gun. All taxation is theft, but it's this type of incredible maneuvering by Maryland politicians that truly illustrates the concept. When the state assesses and increases taxes to cover programs it cannot afford, that is the logical equivalent of an individual stealing money from his neighbor to pay his own debts. Anyone who can't see that is as blind, ignorant, or vile as anyone who voted to return Maryland state government to one-party rule in the first place.
But you gotta love these politicians. They spend money they don't have, drive up the deficit, and then pretend to fix the situation they created by increasing our taxes. And a majority of us apparently buys all of it hook, line, and sinker. Now I think I know why the show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? is so popular.
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