" I told you so ! ! ! "

Life in the People's Republic of Maryland

Defeated gubernatorial candidate Bob Ehrlich (R) is off to Washington working for a big-time law firm, hobnobbing with his friends in the Republican Congress and auditioning as a national media "talking head."
 
Which only proves poet George Herbert's axiom, "Living well is the best revenge." But a close second is being able to say, "I told you so."
 
Tax 'n' spend
Ehrlich warned that Maryland's ongoing, one-party, tax 'n' spend culture would result in more spending fueled by more taxes.
 
Sure enough, the budget emerging from Annapolis increases this year's spending by 10.6 percent ($1.4 billion) while leaving next year's projected spending $1 billion beyond projected revenues (the structural deficit).
 
Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and the General Assembly balance this year's budget by cutting state aid to the counties, raiding reserve accounts, robbing transportation and environmental funds, borrowing into the future at historic levels, relying on accounting gimmicks and raising taxes.
 
Oops, did I say taxes? The Democrats say they aren't raising taxes, just fees. When Gov. Ehrlich raised fees, O'Malley and the media called them taxes. (Remember O'Malley's "fees are really taxes" TV ads?) But now, when the Democrats raise fees, they're just fees, not taxes.
 
Same thing happened with slots. Ehrlich's slots were evil; O'Malley's slots are "an investment in our future." Likewise, O'Malley excoriated Ehrlich for raiding transportation and environmental funds, then did the same after he became governor.
 
This year's new taxes (fees) include a $260 million tax on hospitals that you'll see in your health insurance premiums, the doubling of vehicle title and property recordation fees, hikes in MARC and Metro fares and a 50 percent sales tax raise (6 percent to 9 percent) on alcoholic beverages.
 
A 5-cent plastic bag tax is also working its way through the legislature and, possibly, a $1 to $9 per month "wind tax" on your energy bills to finance O'Malley's $1.5 billion offshore windmill farm. A 10 cent-per-gallon gasoline tax increase is stalled only because, facing $4-per-gallon pump prices, lawmakers aren't suicidal.


http://gazette.net/stories/03252011/polilee200028_32547.php