Governor Wes Moore’s State of the State address, draped in the familiar silken tone of his rhetorical flourish, was an exercise in the art of saying much while revealing little. The Governor, possessed of an almost celestial confidence, ascended the rostrum to regale the gathered legislators with the expected tributes to progress and prosperity. Yet, beneath the polished prose and theatrical delivery, one discerned a lamentable absence of substance – a vacuum artfully masked by the cadence of conviction.
Let us take, for instance, his bold proclamations on economic growth. The Governor spoke of Maryland’s inexorable march toward financial stability yet omitted any meaningful discussion of solutions for the state’s mounting structural fiscal burdens. He extolled public investment with a zeal bordering on the religious yet neglected to mention the tax burden borne by citizens who find themselves underwriting a vision that is more utopian than pragmatic.
The largest so-called reduction is the decision to withhold $420 million from the Rainy Day Fund – a fiscal sleight of hand that masks continued overspending. Moreover, the Governor shifts $145 million of spending burdens onto local governments, forcing them into the unenviable position of hiking local taxes.
The Governor’s plan is not cost-cutting; it is cost-shifting.
In a particularly Orwellian twist, Governor Moore speaks of economic growth and fairness in the same breath as he proposes tax hikes. His proposed reforms, ostensibly aimed at creating a “simpler, fairer, and pro-growth” tax system, are nothing more than a shell game. While promising modest cuts for middle-class families, he simultaneously proposes eliminating critical deductions like interest on home mortgages – effectively raising taxes on those very middle-class families.
Governor Martin O’Malley once dared to toy with the idea of eliminating the mortgage interest deduction during the 2012 Legislative Session in the throes of a budget crisis spurred by the Great Recession. The response, swift and unambiguous, “went over like a lead balloon”. Now, as if summoned from the fiscal netherworld, this noxious proposal has resurfaced within the smoke and mirrors of Governor Moore’s budget, proving that no bad idea ever truly dies in the corridors of Annapolis.
The elimination of the vehicle trade-in allowance, resulting in a $1,200 average increase in taxes on new car purchases, and the introduction of a 75-cent delivery fee tax are burdens that will be borne by working Marylanders. Governor Moore gives with one hand while taking with the other – leaving the middle class worse off than before.
Moreover, in his discourse on education, one finds a similar detachment from reality. The Governor’s soaring rhetoric on equitable schooling and educational opportunity lacked the cold steel of specificity. The words “bold action” were brandished with a frequency that might suggest a genuine commitment to reform, yet details were as sparse as prudence in a spendthrift legislature.
The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, an extravagant education reform program that siphons $1 billion annually from other critical areas like healthcare, infrastructure, and public safety, is heralded as a grand achievement. The Blueprint amounts to throwing more money into the same failed system and to the same people who have failed Maryland’s schools for decades.
To claim that the Blueprint is “fully funded” is to ignore the fiscal gymnastics required to sustain it- diverting 12% of the state’s total sales tax revenue into a program of questionable efficacy. If these funds were redirected to cover Maryland’s pressing obligations, the purported need for the Governor’s billion-dollar tax hikes would evaporate.
And yet, what would a gubernatorial address be without the requisite invocation of bipartisanship? The Governor, eyes alight with nobility, extended the olive branch across the aisle, as is the custom. One might admire the sentiment, were it not delivered with the knowing grin of a man who expects compliance rather than compromise. Bipartisanship, in the Moore lexicon, appears to mean acquiescence to the prevailing orthodoxy. Disagreement is not met with reasoned debate, but with the passive-aggressive suggestion that all rational minds must inevitably converge upon his conclusions.
This brings us to his remarks on crime – a topic that looms large over the state, much as an uninvited menace at an otherwise jubilant holiday celebration. With the surety of a man untroubled by dissonance, the Governor spoke of Maryland’s commitment to justice, invoking statistics meant to reassure. And yet, those who traverse Baltimore’s beleaguered streets, who shutter their businesses at dusk for fear of the coming night, know better. The Governor’s faith in policy solutions that favor the abstract over the concrete is touching, but it is not they who face the daily consequences of such faith.
One must also consider the Governor’s rather curious remarks on workforce development, which, in their fervor, bore an eerie resemblance to a corporate seminar on “Synergistic Strategies for Excellence.” The listener was treated to a string of euphemisms – “reimagining opportunity,” “leveraging untapped talent pools,” “catalyzing innovation” – that might have impressed a room of management consultants but did little to assure the average Marylander that the government has a plan beyond enthusiastic sloganeering. Indeed, one might ask if there is an inverse relationship between the eloquence of one’s vision and the clarity of one’s policy.
Perhaps the most malicious aspect of Governor Moore’s address lies in his continued commitment to Maryland’s untenable energy policies. The Governor trumpets his administration’s environmental initiatives – embracing the fiction that Maryland can lead the nation in clean energy while remaining economically competitive. The reality, however, is starkly different.
As Maryland’s remaining fossil-fuel power plants are shuttered under the weight of draconian environmental regulations, reliability plummets, and energy costs skyrocket. Meanwhile, the Governor touts offshore wind – an expensive, inefficient technology that jeopardizes our marine ecosystems and mars our coastlines. The decision to adopt California’s radical vehicle emissions standards, which would ban the sale of gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, is another ill-conceived measure that will stifle economic growth and disproportionately hurt lower-income families who cannot afford costly electric vehicles.
Governor Moore and the Legislature must abandon their reliance on mandatory spending formulas, relics of a bygone era of fiscal largesse, and confront present realities with an ironclad resolve. The notion that budgetary prudence must be synonymous with increased taxation is a fallacy perpetuated by those who refuse to countenance an alternative.
The Governor could, with a simple stroke of political courage, excise the rot of automatic expenditures that have strangled the state’s financial discretion. If we are to balance the budget without raising taxes, we must begin by dismantling these sacred cows requiring fiscal inertia.
It is a peculiar quirk of modern governance that the elimination of waste is seen as an act of barbarism, while the profligate expansion of government largesse is hailed as enlightened progress. If Governor Moore seeks a legacy beyond the perfumed rhetoric of the present, let him be the one to sever these constraints, to recognize that government must live within its means as surely as the citizens who sustain it. Fiscal responsibility need not be a euphemism for austerity – it can be, and indeed must be, the means by which Maryland flourishes without constantly pilfering the pockets of its people.
And here, we must not neglect the Governor’s musings on Maryland’s place in the national tapestry – a refrain often repeated with a poetic flourish that suggests a preference for the aesthetics of leadership over the burden of governance. One is led to wonder whether the Governor envisions himself as an orator first, a statesman second, and an executive only when necessity demands it.
The artistry of his delivery, while commendable, does little to address the grim mathematics of governance. Maryland’s budgetary constraints, the regulatory stranglehold on business, and the flight of capital from our borders are not matters that yield to soaring speeches.
The address concluded, as expected, with an optimistic crescendo – one meant to leave the audience in rapturous belief that the best is yet to come. It is a noble sentiment, to be sure, but optimism untethered from reality is but a mirage.
One might wish that amidst the oratorical flourishes, there had been a whisper of humility, an admission of the very real obstacles ahead. But such concessions do not make for rousing speeches. And so, we are left with yet another exercise in political theater – well-performed, well-received, and yet, upon closer inspection, frustratingly insubstantial.
In the end, Governor Moore’s address was less of a Blueprint for Maryland’s Future and more a bedtime story for those who prefer comforting illusions to the hard truths that reality demands.
John Wayne Pasternak says
Mr Mitchell I would support you 100 percent to run for governor.Your right on target!
CLAYTON A MITCHELL SR says
I’d never get enough votes. I appreciate your support!
Reed Fawell 3 says
Clayton Mitchell’s commentary is right on target. A Bull’s Eye. It contains many insights that are powerful highlights. I name only a few of the many:
“The Governor spoke of Maryland’s inexorable march toward financial stability yet omitted any meaningful discussion of solutions for the state’s mounting structural fiscal burdens.” …
“The Governor’s plan is not cost-cutting; it is cost-shifting. … His proposed reforms, ostensibly aimed at creating a “simpler, fairer, and pro-growth” tax system, are nothing more than a shell game. While promising modest cuts for middle-class families, he simultaneously proposes eliminating critical deductions like interest on home mortgages – effectively raising taxes on those very middle-class families.” …
“The elimination of the vehicle trade-in allowance, resulting in a $1,200 average increase in taxes on new car purchases, and the introduction of a 75-cent delivery fee tax are burdens that will be borne by working Marylanders … – leaving the middle class worse off than before.” …
“The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, an extravagant education reform program that siphons $1 billion annually from other critical areas like healthcare, infrastructure, and public safety … amounts to throwing more money into the same failed system and …people who have failed Maryland’s schools for decades.”
“Perhaps the most malicious aspect of Governor Moore’s address lies in his continued commitment to Maryland’s untenable energy policies … Perhaps the most malicious aspect of Governor Moore’s address lies in his continued commitment to Maryland’s untenable energy policies … embracing the fiction that Maryland can lead the nation in clean energy while remaining economically competitive … As Maryland’s remaining fossil-fuel power plants are shuttered under the weight of draconian environmental regulations, reliability plummets, and energy costs skyrocket. …” END QUOTE
In short, the reality unfolding in America today suggest the Governor’s plans rest squarely and extravagantly on the Wrong Side of History, an airy utopian vision sure to carry and crash Maryland into a dystopian fiscal future unless it is reversed in time. The Governor apparently disagrees. Witness his Letter to the Editor in today’s Wall Street Journal: “Wes Moore’s Defends Maryland’s Tax Increase:
“I was raised by a single mother who taught me the value of a dollar. She wore sweaters so we could wear coats, a struggle that too many families face. It was with this in mind that I crafted a budget that cuts taxes for the majority of Marylanders. Unfortunately your Feb. 4 editorial “The Californification of Maryland” misses critical points.
First, the assertion that our plan includes “a major tax increase” is off base. We are delivering tax cuts to nearly two-thirds of Marylanders. Eighty-two percent of residents will either see their taxes fall or stay unchanged. For the third year in a row, we won’t raise the sales or property tax. We are also reducing the corporate-tax rate to make our state more friendly for business.
Second, it’s true that under our new plan, those who have done exceptionally well financially will pay a quarter point more than others so we can ensure Maryland has the best schools, roads and public-safety agencies in the U.S. As someone who will be affected by changes laid out in our proposal, I’m OK paying slightly more if it means we don’t have to lay off firefighters and that our kids can get a world-class education.
Finally, your editorial claims that this modest change would drive people out of the state. But the notion of “millionaire tax flight” isn’t true. Our proposal is specifically designed to make Maryland more attractive for families, businesses and entrepreneurs by modernizing government, cutting red tape, reining in spending and ensuring that we are reinvesting resources to create jobs, grow our economy and keep our communities safe.
Our reform package makes taxes simpler, fairer and pro-growth. It will help us deliver on our charge: to uplift residents and create thriving economies.”
GOV. WES MOORE, Annapolis, Md.
I suggest the Wall Street Journal could very well and profitable use a version of Clayton Mitchell’s commentary found in the Talbot Spy on these issues.
CLAYTON A MITCHELL SR says
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Helen chelden says
Regarding : The sorry State…SPOT ON. The Gov know how to spin, weave, + eloquently wax on, and this state will slowly go the way of California for the irresponsible leadership. Such a shame so many are drinking his cool aid.
Dennis Fitzpatrick says
You get what you vote for
Jan Bohn says
Well written and true. Would that our politicians would take the hard road of confronting the truth and coming up with solutions instead of platitudes. I especially take issue with the ‘delivery fee tax’ which will affect all of those who live in rural areas with limited shopping and those who aren’t able to get out to shop due to illness, mobility issues etc. When will the politicians be the grownups in the room????
CLAYTON A MITCHELL SR says
The progressives on the Western Shore don’t give a D@Mn about us on the Shore!
Frederick E Casper Jr says
Over promising, over spending, over borrowing…. When did that become a recipe for fiscal success…
Eric Ploeg says
Thank you Mr Mitchell. It seems this governor convinces a lot of people with his well prepared statements as he’s good at using lots of virtuous sounding acronyms and high fives. So its a relief that not everyone has been fooled!
Your review couldn’t be more accurate. I really hope the readers will take note and share this with other Marylanders beyond the Talbot Spy.
Donovan Clark says
Joe Biden-Kamala Harris all over again. Montgomery County always prospered due to its proximity to the Capital. The population has changed and the taxes have increased. Platitudes may have worked years ago when the county’s largesse was great. Not this time. Further, the first county executive was a republican with fiscal responsibilities and a moral sense of leadership. The current democratic leadership couldn’t hold a candle to him. I knew Mr. Gleason well.
James Meckley says
An Obama clone. Eloquent speaker, charm and million dollar smile. But beware… a wolf in sheeps clothing. He went to a $40,000 per year private school. He knows nothing about education and middle class struggles. He will do the same to Maryland that happened to New York and California.
Eric Ploeg says
Don’t forget Moore’s last position heading a Soros sponsored “nonprofit” which provided him with a million dollar salary. Thus Moore’s proclivity for funding his comrades in the nonprofit industry with millions upon millions of Marylander’s dollars.
Darlene Kuechler says
Well stated, Mr. Mitchell. We need more of your common sense politics on our side. When will the citizens of Maryland wake up and see that we are being scammed by the very person who is in charge of our homes, families, schools and livelihoods? Every time I hear Wes Moore speak, I am more convinced that moving to Delaware is the best choice for my family.
Patrick Conway says
Excellent article. The truth is being told and the grand orator has not provided anything substantial for the citizens of the State during these difficult times.
Richard N Lenham says
Well written and so true. Why do we continue to vote for these buffoons who have absolutely no common sense? I would upend the fake energy program immediately. We need and will continue to need fossil fuels if we are going to have economic growth.
Queen Anne’s County commissioner Phil Dumenil says
Well written and well put this article in itself is an example of what the author is trying to convey everything that the governor shared in his state of the state is simply smoke and mirrors and a theatrical approach to a plan that is doomed
Reed Fawell 3 says
The state of Maryland’s and its people’s reliance on the Federal Government for employment, grants, contracts, and other federal funding of all sorts is enormous. The impact of any major funding cutbacks by the Trump administration will be compounded by Maryland’s own financial weakness.
Michael Palumbo says
Hey Clayton,
Certainly willing to look at the details expressed in your article, but I don’t think all the cliche critical rhetoric that is “meat” for the uninformed does much to move the ball forward!
I love living in the middle of the “cesspool” many of your readers describe Baltimore to be. So, it’s hard for me to take any of their comments seriously!
Tim Caldwell says
He is not doing his job leading the state to financial ruin ,he is SIDE STEPPING HIS RESPONSIBILITY AS THE leader of this state.
Send in DOGE to straighten out his MALFEASANCE, MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS DERELICTION OF DUTY ,CONDUCT UNBECOMING.
HE is not helping the state bringing us down closer to poverty ,and yeah thanks for SCREWING STATE RETIREES!
Reed Fawell 3 says
It is good and very refreshing to be able to read on this website articles and commentary with a wide diversity of views, all thoughtful such as this one.
To all those who have commented here, I hope you will continue your commentary, and establish a new tradition which is sorely needed. One that more fully represents all readers.