THE TIME has come to expose one of Maryland's dirty little secrets.
Maryland's budget deficit is not the result of spending run amok. Fact is, Maryland is not a high-spending state. Maryland is toward the bottom of the pack in spending for many important government services.
The current budget problems are the result of a tax system that hasn't kept pace with changes in the economy and tax cuts that were made regardless of the consequences. Recently, they have been exacerbated by national and international events that are affecting state finances nationwide.
Five years ago, Marylanders witnessed an unusual convergence of the state's Democratic and Republican parties. A bipartisan agreement was reached to cut state income taxes at a cost of about $1.4 billion over five years, now reducing revenues by $550 million or more a year. The income tax cut was part of a basket full of revenue cuts starting in 1995 totaling several billion dollars.
At the time, a coalition of nonprofit, religious and labor leaders warned that the income tax cut would hurt the state's ability to serve its citizens. Unfortunately, political considerations carried the day. The impact of those decisions is now coming home to roost.
Marylanders are experiencing the gap between the need for social, health, education, housing and other human and community services and the state's ability to pay for them, even though Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the nation.
About our wild overspending: Despite Maryland's wealth, we spend less than most states on a range of public services. Maryland ranks 50th in the percentage of personal income spent by state and local governments. It ranks 44th in spending (as a percentage of personal income) on education and libraries, 47th on health and social services, 49th on transportation and 45th on utilities, sewer and solid waste management. It ranks in the middle on public safety (25th) and on natural resources, parks and recreation (26th).
How did this happen?
Look to the revenue side of the budget. Between 1979 and 1999 -- when demand for government services increased -- Maryland was one of only five states where state and local government revenue collections went down when compared with personal income. Only Massachusetts had a greater decline. In 1999, with the income tax cut partially in effect, Maryland fell to 48th in this measure of revenues collected versus wealth.
We pay a real price, even for low taxes. The evidence mounts: poorly performing schools, people without health care, the closing of 15 community mental health centers, waiting lists for services for the developmentally disabled, inadequate housing, higher college tuition, environmental degradation, higher social service and criminal justice caseloads and more.
The state is facing a budget shortfall of about $400 million in the current fiscal year and about $1.3 billion for next year. Politicians should drop the rhetoric about "trimming fat" or "growing out of deficits" and address the real price Marylanders pay for lower taxes and tight budgets -- government isn't doing the job that we want and expect it to do.
They need to show that they are up to the challenge of providing leadership in the land of plenty. As one of the wealthiest states in the nation, we can do a better job of meeting the needs of our fellow citizens.
Peter V. Berns is the executive director of the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations and a member of the Commission on Maryland's Fiscal Structure.