Maryland's Unhappy Residents

"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." That little nugget of truth, also known as the "law of the instrument," can be applied to more than just tool selection. When it comes to some closely-held beliefs, people tend to see circumstances as frequently proving them correct — even when they do nothing of the kind.

At least that might explain why a recently-released Gallup poll finding that 47 percent of Maryland residents would choose to move if they could — the third highest percentage among the states — is being cited by many as evidence of failed tax policy. What the state's anti-tax crowd may lack of political muscle, they certainly make up in fidelity to their point of view.

And it isn't just Republicans or conservatives offering the usual anti-tax screed to explain every signal of dissatisfaction. That was Attorney General Douglas Gansler who mentioned the Gallup poll and attributed the results to high taxes in the televised debate among Democratic candidates for governor last week in College Park.
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