Politicians put hands in our pockets ... again

Apr 19, 2004

Maryland's Republican governor is bragging that no taxes were raised in the legislative session just ended. No taxes? What a lie – they just raised a bunch of fees, which are nothing but the most regressive form of taxes. The first one affecting most adults is a 50 per cent increase in car registration fees, now costing $128 for two years, instead of $81. And every homeowner in the state will pay $30 extra per year toward the sewage running into the Chesapeake Bay, even though homeowners are not the primary reason for the pollution.

At the same time, the counties and cities in Maryland are also raising various fees. For example, Baltimore's mayor is adding yet another increase to the water bills everyone pays. Over an eight year period, water and sewer fees in Baltimore will DOUBLE.

What has the city been doing with the water and sewer fees it collected for the last 50 years? Why wasn't the maintenance taken care of so that raw sewage would not be spilling into the water system? Baltimore's mayors – all Democrats – had other uses for the fees we paid. For example, they all gave tax breaks and subsidies to their real estate developer friends to build big projects down at the Inner Harbor.

The Democratic mayor wants to blame the Republican governor, saying "I believe that if the Republicans could tax the poor on the air they breathe, they would do that too...."

Republicans or Democrats – the only people the politicians don't make pay more are the very ones who have the money – their buddies, the wealthy.