From the Examiner Miller warns budget crunch could force special session next year
What seems to be a theme here – Management by crisis or putting of today what will be a bigger problem tomorrow. Well, today we have Senate President Mike Miller warning that lawmakers may need a special session to deal with projected budget deficits; a special session that will be held in the summer of 2008. Yes, 2008, roughly 18 months from now.
I’ll just skip over the “fiscally responsible” budget proposed by Gov O’Malley. The budget that uses $967,000,000.00 from the state piggy bank called the rainy day fund. Never mind low unemployment of 3.9% in Dec 2006, 18th in the Nation, record tax revenues – it’s raining cats and dogs out there.
The Democrats like to throw around the state’s “structural deficit.” and talk about the looming crisis that they all see coming. The problem is that they could cut (or maybe just freeze) spending or they can raise taxes. Either option will be “unpopular” so, why solve the problem today? Kick the can down the road some more. No reason to do anything this session. Probably can’t get it in next session. No, we’ll wait for 18 months and then call an emergency session. That way we can wring our hands and rush those unpopular proposals through and claim we were forced into it, we had no choice.
Note: For the sake of accuracy I was going to suggest that they adopt the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal as a mascot instead of perpetuating the ostrich myth, but I could not find a good picture of one (Thank you Douglas Adams)
