Blair Lee: Levyland, The Fee State

Government spending is a way of life here in Levyland, where tax cuts are unnatural acts and budget cuts are hate crimes.

In Levyland, government spending cures all ills. Test scores plummeting? Spend more money. Traffic congested? Spend more money. Bay polluted? Spend more money. Not enough jobs? Spend more money. Too much crime? Spend more money.

Nothing can stop it. Good times or bad times, it doesn’t matter, we just keep spending. Levyland’s governor, Martin O’Malley, says he cut spending $7 billion during his six years in office. But that’s a fib. His first budget was $30 billion, his latest budget is $35 billion. That’s a $5 billion increase, not a $7 billion cut.

And how does Levyland’s government afford all this spending? By raising taxes. That’s what Levyland’s voters want, or at least, that’s the message Levyland’s lawmakers heard when they were all re-elected in 2010.

Heck, some enlightened professors over at the University of Levyland even have studies proving that Levyland’s citizens are seriously undertaxed compared to select European countries.

But despite their mandate, Levyland’s lawmakers goofed during the final hours of their recent 90-day session. Time ran out before they could raise more taxes. So Gov. O’Malley is convening a special session next Monday to finish the job.

In Levyland, the question is never, “Taxes, yes or no?” It’s always, “Taxes, how high and on whom?” That’s what next Monday is all about. The only problem facing Levyland’s lawmakers is that they’re running out of taxes to raise.

During Gov. O’Malley’s six-year tenure they’ve increased just about every tax and fee on the books, some of them twice! You don’t believe me? Here’s a list compiled by “Change Maryland,” a taxpayers group led by Larry Hogan.

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