It’s the Tax Loopholes, Stupid
Trailers at Travilah Elementary School in Montgomery County. Hundreds of these eye-sores are serving as classrooms across our state as a result of Gov. Ehrlich's budget cuts. For the third year in a row, Gov. Bob Ehrlich has produced a budget that sells Maryland short. Despite his sunny claims of economic prosperity and his photo ops with smiling kids, his proposed FY2006 budget in fact features more program cuts, insufficient funding for the Thornton educational plan, the elimination of jobs for about 100 state workers, and arbitrary cuts for counties (at least the ones that happen to be represented by Democrats). Once again, the governor refuses to tackle the main cause of Maryland's long-term budget deficit—the loopholes by which 2/3 of the biggest corporations in our state, including many of his biggest contributors, no longer pay any income tax at all. You paid your taxes last year. Isn't it time you insisted that Wal-Mart pay theirs, too? Read this week’s In Focus essay below to find out what you can do to close corporate tax loopholes -- and in the process help eliminate Maryland’s budget deficit overnight in a fair and popular manner. Tom Hucker In Focus
Progressive Maryland in the NewsThe Cutting Room Floor: Rebellious student leaders ditch State House disrobing scheme"Annapolis lawmakers avoided seeing Student Government Association President Aaron Kraus and other student leaders strip down in the balcony of the House of Delegates chamber when they decided not to take on the tuition-capping bill earlier this month. Kraus was scheming with student government presidents from other system schools, representatives from Progressive Maryland and other student activists to disrobe right before House Bill 1188 came to a vote, revealing crudely designed white T-shirts that spelled out “Help Us” in a last-ditch attempt to push for increased University System of Maryland funding for the next three years..." |
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Gov. Ehrlich seems mighty pleased with his proposed budget plan for FY2006. In his recent State of the State Address he forecasted a $680 million surplus at the end of the current budget year, claiming further to have overcome $4 billion in deficits during his time in office. But he conspicuously failed to note the rickety method of one-time fixes and temporary patch-up jobs he has implemented to bridge those shortfalls. And he is doing everything in his power to distract Marylanders from the real cause of the state's long-term billion dollar deficits: endemic corporate tax cheating...