(January 21, 2001) HOLD TIGHT TO YOUR GUNS AND YOUR WALLET!
In 1994, Prince George's County went from a $50 million surplus to a $75 million deficit over election night. The philosophy of governing held by then County Executive Glendening was clear: taxes are a resource for politicians to spend on job security. What better way to assure that key pieces of the political machine are yours at reelection than to buy them with cold hard cash? Budget mavens and the press clammed up long enough to ensure bad budget news wouldn't complicate Glendening's ascent to state office that year.
Glendening's Annapolis years have been no different. Taxes are spent lavishly and strategically, keeping cronies greased and machine resources in line. It's a control thing. That's the only way Glendening and his control-thing buddies, Mike Miller and Cas Taylor, can get things like gun control passed.
Did we say lavish? Latest estimates popping up in the business journals predict the combined price tags of social engineering projects - each a plum buying the fealty of some legislator - will place the state 'paygo' budget half a billion dollars in the red by the time Parris hands the reins of power to his presumed successor, Kathleen Kennedy. (Even though we all know how those Kennedy's just hate to spend tax money, Kathleen might want to have a chat with Wayne Curry, to find out what it's like taking over after Parris.) The administration is obviously sensitive to the danger that legislators might become excessively frugal: Just as the first reports of deficit spending emerged, it put out its own press releases with rosy prognostications. Don't worry, they say. Lotta cash here. Keep spending. Pay no attention to those gloommongers foretelling economic slowdown.
When pols start slavering over gun control, reach for your guns and your wallet, because in Maryland you get to pay top dollar for government to tread on your rights. And press for gun control they will. It's a triple whammy for us. Important sounding but otherwise meaningless social legislation is always a way to distract the public from serious economic matters; they'll be more intent on pushing left wing measures at any state level now that federal restrictions will be harder to impose; and the price of buying legislative stooges will go up, commensurate with the danger that ordinary voters will figure this all out once leadership goes to the well one too many times.
Yes, trading expensive pork for political favors (including gun control) would run the state into a budget hole, but hey … it's not like Parris and his shills are paying for it themselves, right? Taxes are free money. The only good news is that legislators will soon start to see the real price from their last gun control binge. The governor turned on the money in return for his gun control last year, and the prolonged (and neglected) cost of energy is taking its toll exactly as we'd warned. Together these are a constant drain on the state economy, in a year when excessive Y2K tech spending isn't propping up the private sector. Glendening's gun control mortgage will come due sooner than elections. Public angst should make it much easier for us to effect change at the ballot box if we do our part.