New commitment to fiscal responsibility cited; Inherited $1.7 billion shortfall nearly closed; Triple A bond rating retained
MARYLAND – Strong economic indicators now show that Maryland is moving out of the national economic downturn more quickly than other states, with several experts citing the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s commitment to fiscal responsibility as an important factor.
In the past year, Maryland’s rate of job growth has outpaced the national average by four times. And today, unemployment in Maryland is nearly thirty percent lower than the national average. Additionally, exports out of the Port of Baltimore have increased 32%.
“Working together, we’re making significant progress, even in these difficult economic times,” said Governor O’Malley.After inheriting a $1.7 billion structural deficit during a national economic downturn, Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown led the charge to nearly close that deficit while strengthening Marylanders’ shared priorities, rather than abandoning them.
Because of their leadership, Maryland has been able to retain its status as one of only seven states to earn a AAA Bond Rating from the nation’s three major rating agencies, Moody’s, Standard & Poors, and Fitch.“With a lot of hard work and with a lot of tough votes, we were able to restore fiscal responsibility, starting by reducing future spending growth by about $2 billion,” Governor O’Malley told a gathering at the Center for American Progress in July.
These cuts, which included a reduction of 700 government jobs, were made while adhering to the state legislature’s affordability guidelines. The previous Republican administration, despite tough talk about spending, had ignored affordability guidelines, allowing the State spending to balloon 22 percent during their final two years in office.
And, after the previous administration chose to put private special interests above the public interest, the O’Malley-Brown Administration passed the first progressive income tax in Maryland’s history, increased the Earned Income Tax Credit, and signed the first Living Wage law in the nation.
The Administration also moved to make government operate more efficiently, installing the StateStat program which has helped save $20 million in overtime costs and $20 million in Medicaid fraud recoveries. StateStat also helped the Administration identify an obsolete, violent House of Correction in Jessup for closure – saving taxpayers $10 million per annum.
Sources indicate that restoring fiscal responsibility has allowed the Administration to make steady progress toward several important priorities: strengthening and growing Maryland’s middle class, improving public safety and public education in every part of the State, and expanding opportunity, including the opportunity to enjoy the health of the people we love and the health of the environment we love.
“Fiscal responsibility is to central to the cause of progress,” said Governor O’Malley. “And working together we’ve been able to make significant progress, because together we’ve chosen to embrace the greatest of freedom’s privileges: the freedom to choose a better future for ourselves, our children, our posterity.”
