Category Archives: Public Choice

E.J. Dionne’s latest column praises Maryland governor Martin O’Malley. It begins:

Imagine a place where the leading politician pokes fun at those who “regard all taxes as a pestilence, a plague or a disease.”

Imagine the same politician saying: “Not one of us wants to pay more in taxes. But you know what we want even less? What we want even less is to leave our country to our kids in a worsened condition.”

O’Malley probably thinks he looks Pragmatic and Moderate. That will get him Votes, which are a politican’s lifeblood. Forgive me then, for being more concerned with being correct than popular.

O’Malley gives us a choice here between keeping taxes low and bettering the country – for the children, natch. It is a false choice.

Look at some of Maryland’s new spending initiatives the tax increase will fund: more money for health care. More money for education. Transportation. Environmental cleanup. Wonderful things all. But O’Malley is choosing the wrong means for pursuing these ends.

For example, Maryland has some lousy public schools, especially in Baltimore. But giving them more money literally rewards their failure. This problem is systemic; the solution then is to get government out of the education business. Even if it isn’t Pragmatic or Moderate.

And we’ve all heard the stories about how well government health care intiatives work – they don’t. And when something doesn’t work, you should stop doing it. Even if it costs you Votes.

Someone should tell Governor O’Malley that it is better to do good than to look good. Cut spending. The $550m in cuts this year is a good start, even if it’s negated by other increases. After spending is down and the deficit is under control, cut taxes. The children will thank you for it later.