Gov. Hogan’s Budget Threatens Prosperity
Governor Hogan is taking an approach to the state’s finances that threatens economic recovery and does too little to help families that struggle to make ends meet. The legislature’s top policy analyst, Warren Deschenaux, even went so far as to describe it as “a very dangerous…approach to budgeting” during Monday afternoon’s fiscal briefing.
Governor Hogan’s short-term plan weakens Maryland’s ability to grow by cutting services that average people rely on each day, like our schools. Instead, the governor should take a balanced approach that includes revenues; not a cuts-only approach that fails to build on a foundation for the future. A balanced approach means calling on the wealthy to pay their fair share.
Maryland already asks people struggling to make ends meet to contribute more than the wealthiest Marylanders as a share of their income. As a result, the wealthy are failing to pay their fair share and our state cannot invest in what it takes to create good jobs and strengthen our economy so it works for everyone.
Instead of asking Maryland’s wealthiest – those who’ve gotten by far the largest share of recent economic growth — to pay a bit more, Governor Hogan imposes hardship on everyone else. This budget is balanced on the backs of sick folks who will have access to fewer doctors; pregnant women surviving on less than $30,000 a year who will lose their health insurance; K-12 students who won’t get as much individual instruction because their classes are too large; college students who will pay higher tuition and graduate deeper in debt; and state police officers, correctional officers, and other public servants who will struggle to pay their bills after having their pay cut.
Every year the Department of Legislative Services estimates how much it would cost to maintain state services Marylanders rely on at their current levels. DLS does this in part by looking at demographic and economic changes in the state, since a growing student population means that schools will need more funding or a growing elderly population will mean higher health care costs for the state. But Governor Hogan’s proposed budget is $871 million below what is needed just to maintain the status quo. This means our schools will not have what they need to provide kids with the quality education needed to compete in today’s economy, our communities will be less safe, college will be less affordable, and medical care will be harder to get even if you’re sick.
To build a better future for Maryland, we need to focus on investing in what works: good schools and great opportunities for people to climb into the middle class and for those there now not to slip out. Teachers still have more children in their classrooms than what’s best for effective learning. Hard working men and women struggle to find jobs that pay enough to support their families. Parents still go hungry so their kids can eat dinner. That’s not the Maryland we want. Now is not the time to put politics over principle. It’s time to call on the wealthiest Marylanders to pay their fair share for the good of all – not to push those struggling farther back while giving those at the top a break they don’t need.
