BlueRidgeForum

Listening today to senator John McCain and other fiscally conservative senators fight their Thermopylae here against the Obama Mega-Appropriations Bill–

“Mr. MCCAIN. Mr. President, this amendment is very simple and straightforward. It would prohibit funds to be spent on the thousands of earmarks that are listed in the statement of managers but that are not included in the bill text”

and then watching what the Maryland Republican General Assembly leadership is apparently not doing to take a stand against state and local pork — is like visiting alternate universes.

The Maryland Republican leadership message seems to be that it is perfectly all right “to go along to get along” on the pork-rich capital budget while berating the O’Malley Administration for overspending (which it richly deserves). By supporting state pork, however, those Maryland Republican leaders morally turn their back on the core of Republican U.S. senators who are waging a long war to hold back government spending and growth.

Last month here we repeated our concern from 2008 –

“Transparency is not just for the executive branch - - - but also for the legislature. We suggest that a good transparency start in this Maryland General Assembly would be sunshine in time before a local-bond-bill package is enacted. That package is one part of the much larger capital budget. A proposed final “legislative-project” bond package (looking like this one from last year but also linked to relevant bond-bill fact sheets like this one) coming before the General Assembly should be posted timely on the internet. In this way, not only legislators but the voters and the media could consider this “legislative projects” package before final action by the General Assembly. And the proposed final “Miscellaneous Grant Programs” of the capital budget should also be posted. When you see the size of those local grants, you will understand why. Click here for more details. The last three Maryland capital budgets were passed virtually unanimously.”

Why won’t Republican lawmakers in Annapolis propose pork-clearing amendments to the capital budget this year on the floor of both chambers? Such amendments could first focus on some of the more extravagant of the local bond-bill proposals. For example, in addition to the requested amount, notice any prior year or other taxpayer money in these two illustrative bond-bill fact sheets here and here. 

Of course, the answer is always that the Republicans on the Senate Budget and Taxation and House Appropriations panels want a ’seat at the table’ and won’t continue to have one if they make too much trouble. Perhaps the state Republican Party should sponsor a public debate asking whether a ’seat at the Democrat table’ is worth the price.

Some may think these local bond-bill projects aren’t expensive enough to really upset taxpayers statewide.

Those of this opinion should then consider this year’s crop of “Miscellaneous grants” by scrolling to the bottom of this capital budget document here.(”[D]ollar amounts in the funding charts are displayed in thousands.”) Taxpayers will find interesting reading under “Miscellaneous grants” including Baltimore City entries for “WestSide Revitalization Project,” “Park Heights Revitalization,” “Baltimore Museum of Art,” and “Lyric Opera House - Stage House Expansion” among other questionable uses of taxpayer money.

We wrote last March along these lines –

Special-interest roadblocks to prudent capital spending cannot be cleared away instantly in Maryland, but robust Senate and House of Delegates floor debates on the capital budget in hard fiscal times can start us moving toward a solution.”

It bears repeating that the four Republican members of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee are a likely key to any anti-pork and spending-transparency reforms: David R. Brinkley, Donald F. Munson, George C. Edwards, J. Lowell Stoltzfus. Lamentably, Mr. Munson apparently thought CASA of Maryland was worthy of taxpayer support here; and Mr. Brinkley, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Stoltzfus have impressive records for bringing home the bacon here.

Some local bond-bill projects are arguably worthy endeavors - - - but for private donors. A few may be defensible for public funding. But it is a stretch to burden Maryland taxpayers with debts for undertakings far removed from the core roles of state and local government.

Now Republicans and conservatives across the nation are demonstrating with Tea Parties against the Obama Administration’s spending — as much a symbol of protest against government intrusion as against the total amounts themselves, as bad as these amounts are in the Anti-Stimulus and the follow-on Mega-Appropriations package here and here.

Of course, we expect the Other Team to want to grow Maryland state and local government inexorably and to spend taxpayers’ money on all manner of initiatives.  That is what they believe in — what they do.  We can’t control their inclinations.  But we should contrive to embarrass their senior spenders publicly.

Republican lawmakers can, on the other hand, put Maryland local bond-bill proposals here as well as a selection of big-dollar ‘Miscellaneous grants’ here on the web — giving voters enough timely and detailed information to let these lawmakers know whether such taxpayer-paid projects are appropriate in these hard times. 

As the saying goes, we report and you the readers decide, by talking to your Maryland legislators.

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed