I want to compliment the Sun for having a front-page article ("Raising revenue," March 27) on the new fee and tax increases that the 2011 General Assembly has approved. Our one-party state government has done it again. You can bet other fee and tax increases are coming in the very near future. Toll increases, raising gasoline taxes and adding bag taxes are now being discussed. If elected officials hadn't robbed the Transportation Trust Fund to balance an out of control budget, many of these increases might have been averted.

These same elected officials ignore the fact that raising taxes and fees often decrease the base from which these fees and taxes are collected. People will just forgo the vanity license plates, etc., resulting in lower than expected revenues. Baltimore City's bottle tax is a good example of less than expected revenue from increased fees ("City taxes, fees projected to fall short of expectations," March 15).

There was also no mention of any budget cuts. Budget cuts and belt tightening are unheard of in this state. Our Democratic Party politicians would never take on the real budget challenges for fear of losing votes. So as college tuition rises for state residents and falls for our "new Americans," we in Maryland will continue to bear the brunt of a spend and tax government. When will Maryland voters wake up?

H. Williams, Baltimore