June 26, 2008 - 6:43pm
State GOP: O'Malley's spending cuts aren't what they seem
By Danny ReiterThe state Republican Party is accusing Gov. Martin O'Malley (D-Baltimore) of "double-budgeting" and "fund swaps," saying the governor is trying to pass off $50 million off significant reductions in state spending.
"First of all, Martin O'Malley and his Democratic cronies in the General Assembly should have gone through a stringent spending reduction process before passing the largest tax increase in Maryland history," said state GOP Chairman Jim Pelura in statement. "How many more offsets, ‘fund swaps,' ‘double-budgeting' and other budget sleight-of-hand tricks are in the budget that would allow reduction of taxes on Maryland's hardworking families?" Pelura added. "This is typical O'Malley sleight of hand."
O'Malley's deputy press secretary, Christine Hansen, shot back in an email to PolitickerMD.com: "Since taking office, Governor O'Malley and the General Assembly have reduced spending growth by $1.8 billion and eliminated over 700 jobs. That is a fact. In Governor Ehrlich's last year in office, the State budget grew by more than 12%, even while the structural deficit continued to grow."
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"They'd be better off with John Leopold running for vice president."
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Insanity
Maryland keeps electing the same people over and over. Albert Einstein quotes “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Stop voting for the same demarcates each election! I’m not saying that the Republicans are any better but it would at least bring Maryland back to a two party system if there were more republicans in the house and senate. Right now it’s a free for all for the Demarcates in Annapolis. Vote them out!
What Christine didn't say
What Christine didn't say was that the state had 1,900 vacancies last year. What she didn't say was that Governor O'Malley passed the largest tax hike in state history and the state of MD's budget is BILLIONS higher then it was when he took office. Do her comments pass the stink test? Just look at the FY07 budget versus the FY08 budget and the FY09 budget. Each one has more than a billion in spending increases, but she tells you they have reduced spending by $1.8 billion. What she means is that we increased spending by $5 billion, but realized we didn't have the money so we only increased it by $3.2 billion and that's a $1.8 billion reduction....or is it? It's $3.2 more than before (hypothetical numbers here). Don't buy the hype. At least as a window dresser, she isnt an eyesore.
Owe'Malley budget
O'Malley's deputy press secretary, Christine Hansen had to bring up a past governor? Why?
Is everything the boy gov does compared to Ehrlich? We kept hearing how bad Ehrlich was by the boys campaign, and now everything he does is compared to that? Not a very high standard IF we are to beLIEve the hype.
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