Maryland Governor (Democrat) Wes Moore is lauded constantly and fawned over by Montgomery County’s statehouse politicians (all one political party adherents) and by his Lieutenant Governor, MoCo / Darnestown, MD resident Aruna Miller.
Back in February of this year, here is what MoCo’s career politician / longtime chief executive Marc Elrich issued to the press about the Governor’s “State of the State” address:
“For the first time in a long time, we have leaders in the State House who extend a real hand of partnership to all of us at the local level. Partnership isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s the pragmatic thing to do so we can deliver results.
I look forward to continuing to work with Gov. Moore and his administration during this general assembly session and throughout the year.
Our challenges are great, but so are our strengths, and we have a governor with a clear vision and collaborative approach to lead our state to make us even better.”
So just how is the governor doing after two big budgets with regard to your wallet, the state’s spending, the accumulated debt and the overall fiscal health of Maryland’s government?
Short answer: middle of the pack. Far from the top.
Longer answer: According to the Cato Institute’s grading methodology, a ho-hum 20th overall, with a score of 52. Given some credit for keeping spending “flat” but we all know this spending is set to ramp up in the coming years — and Maryland is staring at still more fiscal deficits each budget cycle, per its own state projections.
Yes, yes caveats apply. Every scoring / benchmarking method can be nitpicked. Still, it is interesting the both Virginia and West Virginia’s governors scored higher on fiscal policy according to Cato’s Chris Edwards, a longtime policy and tax wonk who is the author of the report.
Here is what was written about West Virginia’s governor,
“In 2021, Justice proposed phasing out the individual income tax to increase economic growth and attract residents to the state. The legislature rejected the proposal, but Justice continued to pursue tax reform. In 2022, he pointed to soaring budget surpluses and proposed cutting all income tax rates by 10 percent. He argued, “I wish we could eliminate the personal income tax altogether, but we need to get the ball rolling—now more than ever. In the past year, gas prices have gotten out of control, and inflation is through the roof. West Virginians need help right now.”
Wow. Refreshing to hear that from a state governor, no?
Instead, in Maryland, during rampant inflation and higher gas prices, the statehouse politicians in Annapolis allowed still more gas tax rate hikes and jacked up the registration fee on all manner of cars and trucks.
Ah well, Maryland’s “decade” beckons.
More to come.
