O'Malley Raises Taxes, Again. This Time For Transportation

Martin O'Malley's legacy will be that he raised taxes against hard-working middle class Marylanders more than any Governor in the history of Maryland.  This year is no exception.

In the latest episode of raising taxes in the guise of "investing in our future", we're examining the proposed gas tax.  If you're not aware, the gas tax helps fund the Transportation Fund.  Maryland definitely has a Transportation Fund problem.  There is no money left to maintain highways, expand highways, and build transportation infrastructure, including mass transit options.  But that's not the problem.  The problem is that Martin O'Malley spent all the money in the Transportation Fund to fill revenue gaps in other areas.  You've heard the expression, "He raided the transportation fund." Well, that is the problem.  He raids the fund, spends it elsewhere, then comes back to the citizens and says, "We need to raise taxes to invest in our transportation infrastructure."  If he hadn't raided the transportation fund in the first place, we wouldn't need to raise taxes on fuel.

I-695 \ I-95 junction reconstruction in Eastern Baltimore County in 2009

But let's be clear.  Though we are pointing the finger at Martin O'Malley for spending all of the money from the Transportation Fund on things that are not transportation related, he is certainly not the first Governor to do so.  The Republican's beloved Bob Ehrlich did it, too.  Why do our leaders continue to raid the Transportation Fund?  Because they can.  Need more money to spend on social programs?  Raid the Transportation Fund!  Balance the budget? Raid the Transportation Fund!

To the rescue comes Carroll County House Delegate Republican Susan Krebs and her house bill HB176, the Transportation Trust Fund Protection Act, that would have prevent raiding of the fund.  However, she wrote:

Proposing an amendment to the Maryland Constitution to establish a Transportation Trust Fund to be used only for purposes relating to transportation with a specified exception; prohibiting the reversion or crediting of any part of the Transportation Trust Fund to the General Fund or a special fund of the State; requiring that specified taxes, fees, charges, and revenues be credited to the Transportation Trust Fund; etc

Her bill will most likely not be passed, as the Maryland General Assembly votes NO to ANYTHING Republicans propose.  If it's not the Democrats' idea, it's a bad idea.  Some up and coming Democrat from the suburbs will then propose the same bill in the next session and the overwhelming Democratic majority will rally around it.  Remember the slots bills?

I agree with her that the Transportation Fund should not be every governor's piggy bank for other pet projects.  On the other hand, I totally disagree with the editorial she forwarded to constituents from Pete Horrigan.  I thought his editorial to be another hard right-wing non-compromising opinion that gets us nowhere.  What I totally disagree with is that the funds should not be used to help pay for mass transportation.  His argument is that mass transportation is not financially independent and highway drivers are forced to unfairly subsidize mass transportation.

I-795 in Owings Mills, Baltimore County, with Metro Subway in the middle

Perhaps there's a bit of liberal in me.  I don't have hard proof, but common sense tells me that the poor overwhelmingly use mass transportation.  Without it, they would be forced to find alternate forms of transportation, thus pushing them further into poverty or financial instability.  The unintended consequence of cutting mass transit is that the poor would become and even greater burden on the tax-paying part of society, and we don't want that.

Secondly, by experience, I know that many middle class people use light rail and the subway in Baltimore and Washington.  If we cut mass transit, which could result in higher fairs, fewer trains, or even no trains, then all of these suburbanite commuters will be forced onto the highways.  If the pundits argue that the highways are too jammed now, wait until you add everyone that's sitting on a train in the morning.

I hate that Martin O'Malley is promoting "investing in transportation" as one of his priorities, when in fact he is covering up that he needs to replace the money that he took.  I agree that the money needs to be there, but I do agree with Delegate Krebs that he can't be stealing the money for other purposes anymore.

Baltimore's Light Rail near the Baltimore Convention Center

Here's the editorial that Delegate Krebs sited.  And note that Mr. Horrigan is the President of the Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors Association.  He WANTS more people on the roads so that they use their fuel.  This reminds me of the General Motors Streetcar Conspiracy, which, interestingly, was brought to my attention by the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Once again, Virginia has beaten Maryland to the punch regarding taxes on business and consumers. Virginia eliminated its gas tax completely and replaced it with a 3.5 percent sales tax on the wholesale price of gasoline. Gov. Martin O'Malley's new tax increase proposal would reduce the gas tax rate 5 cents but add a sales tax to the retail price of gasoline and diesel, resulting in a 63 percent increase in the tax on gas and a 90 percent increase in the diesel tax.

Only in Maryland would we claim to "reduce" taxes in a way that results in increases - and leaves Maryland retailers at a devastating competitive disadvantage. The Virginia tax rate in particular will be almost 28 cents per gallon less than Maryland's, and we will have the highest fuel tax rate compared to all our surrounding states. Most of Maryland's approximately 2,300 gas stations are operated by small businesses, and many are located within close proximity to our neighboring states. These increases will make our small businesses uncompetitive with their nearby, out of state competitors.

Maryland fuel retailers, on average, don't even make 20 cents per gallon and will be forced to pass all tax increases on to their customers. The net result will be the loss of Maryland jobs and tax revenues as consumers make their purchases out of state.

Equally concerning is the fact that the governor's proposal does nothing to address the real issue of why we have a transportation revenue problem, and that is mass transit: two systems (the Maryland Transit Administration and the Washington Metro) where highway users already pay over 50 percent of the operating costs. Fares paid by transit riders cover only a fraction of the operating costs, yet mass transit systems handle less than 10 percent of local travel while highways and bridges are choked with the remaining 90 percent. This is not sustainable. Maryland, like Virginia, must change its approach and recognize that highway users already pay more than their fair share, and raising gas taxes is not the solution. Other, broader-based funding sources need to be identified.

Protecting the funds in the Transportation Trust Fund is absolutely essential to prevent our elected representatives from siphoning off funds for other purposes. Although the governor's plan includes a "lockbox" intended to ensure that the funds collected are used for their intended purpose, in reality his proposal does nothing to protect these funds, because all it takes is a three-fifths vote of a standing committee to raise the funds. Moreover, the governor's proposal specifically indicates that the state can continue to divert Highway User Revenue funds that are supposed to be shared with the counties.

Motorist-paid gas taxes and vehicle fees are by far the largest source of transportation funding for both highways and mass transit. Maryland can no longer meet the needs of two costly major mass transit systems and adequately maintain and improve our highway system on the backs of motorists. A look at Maryland's transportation spending history over the last 10 years bears this out, as commute times have increased, transit ridership has been flat and millions of dollars of transportation funds have been permanently diverted to the General Fund.

Now is not the time to raise our gas taxes 63 percent and squeeze more money out of Marylander's highway users' pockets. Our state government needs to find other alternatives - including living within its means.

 

- Pete Horrigan, President of Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors Association 

Mass Transit in Carroll County?

Hellllll, no!!! If you're from Taneytown, then it's probably pronounced, "Hay-yalll no!"

Recently, Socialist-sympathizer Michael Dresser, a writer for The Sun who claims that he is not an editorialist (though his "journalistic work" is full of his opinion), wrote that it is time for Carroll County to get on the bus. He states that he started an investigation as to why the bus bays at the Owings Mills Metro station were not used - ever. Here is what he says:

It seems the good folks of that county were horrified at the idea of mass transit. They feared it would bring all kinds of bad people from Baltimore up to the bucolic country - ready to pillage and plunder.

Wow, do you think he came up with that on his own or do you think he gathered that by talking to the thousands of people who live in Carroll County that formerly lived in Owings Mills or Hunt Valley that were terrorized by crime and intimidation when the mass transit expanded to their area? They don't call it the Mugger Mover or the Fright Rail because they bring too many middle-aged women pushing baby buggies.

Do you remember when Owings Mills Mall was considered a nice place to go shopping? There was a Saks 5th Avenue, Macy's, Lord & Taylor, Hecht's. The smaller shops within the mall were plentiful, the eatery presented nice places to get lunch. Now - forget about it. The eatery is dominated by McDonald's. If you can get a cashier there to tell you to have a nice day, I'll give you $100. And within the mall - you have Stick's-N-Stuff, a bunch of ceramic animals stores, day-glow golf, and plenty of places for rent. And the clientele? Let's just say that you don't go there after the business day is over. You WILL get robbed. It may not be in the mall, but you'll get whopped in the parking lot.

Now, I'm not opposed to a long-haul bus that goes from Westminster to a stop in Owings Mills or straight downtown. The muggers and looters would have little reason to ride this bus. They'd have to have a pass to get on and it's not like you can victimize the mall in Westminster, run across the parking lot with your MP3 players that you just stole, slash a few tires, break a few windows, and hop on a train and you're out of here.

I don't want to sound like a cynic who's just on a soapbox. I actually rode the subway for 4 years. I had my window smashed. I have friends whose cars had their tires slashed. I have friends whose cars had a key taken to the side of them. I've been in a train car with a gang of 12 year old hoodlums in my face saying they were going to F'k me up and walked away laughing. I heard the profanity - from little old ladies. I watched people throw their garbage on the floor and tell everyone on the train to F-off. I watched as people strolled from car-to-car trying to sell their wares - batteries, socks, CD's. These aren't entrepreneurs! They are thieves. They are selling stolen goods. Is this the kind of activity that we want in Carroll County? Of course not.

Doc Cheatham, the President of the Baltimore National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said that there is a cultural divide between the city and Carroll County. I would have to agree with him. There have been over 2000 shootings and 201 murders in Baltimore City this year. I don't even think there's been 5 shootings in Carroll County in the past 2 years.

The streets of Baltimore are controlled by roaming bands of armed drop-out, drug-addicted thugs. The streets of Carroll County are controlled by roaming bands of groundhogs and deviant weeds, though the State Highway Administration has done a good job recently of keeping the grass cut and timely removal of the flattened ground hogs.

In Baltimore, when someone reports a crime, the criminal element responds by fire-bombing your house, as happened this week. In Carroll County when someone reports a crime, the person kindly moves their car away from the yellow-painted curb. No one is shot. No houses are fire-bombed. They may even go to Hoffman's for some ice cream so that they understand that there's no hard feelings.

There is a cultural divide and for good reason. People want to live in safety. People want to live where they don't fear for their life. People want to live where they will not be harassed. People want to live where their kids can go to good schools. People with more money will always gravitate to where they can live and have the lifestyle that they want. Homogeneity shouldn't be a crime. Income redistribution is an expected part of life. Population redistribution shouldn't have to be a part of life.

So when Doc Cheatham says there is a cultural divide, no one should disagree with him. When Michael Dresser says that Carroll County needs to get on board and have mass transportation, someone ought to make him ride the mugger mover for a week.