20071019 Allan J. Lichtman: The special session

Allan J. Lichtman: The special session

Friday, Oct. 19, 2007

It’s official. Gov. Martin O’Malley has called a special session of the Maryland General Assembly to begin on Oct. 29. The legislature has but one daunting task before it: to close the state’s $1.7 billion budget deficit

Why did O’Malley call a special session on the budget deficit? The governor says that we need to act now to keep the deficit from increasing. Yet they could have acted at the last regular session rather than letting the problem fester.

The real scoop behind the special session is that the governor and his allies in Annapolis believe they can push measures through the General Assembly without the test of public hearings, expert testimony, and public and press scrutiny.

Just as medical authorities tell us that shedding pounds requires only a four-word prescription — eat less, exercise more — the same holds true for shedding deficits — spend less, tax more. And don’t for a moment think that legalizing slots doesn’t count as taxation. We know that slot machine gambling is one of the most regressive ways to extract revenue from our residents. That’s why Sean Dobson, the head of Progressive Maryland, says that his group — the state’s conscience on progressive taxation — firmly opposes legalized slot machine gambling in our state.

Read the rest of the article as Allan J. Lichtman, a professor of history at American University and a national political analyst, dissects spending, taxes and slots for the reader. Find the article here: Allan J. Lichtman: The special session