Lawmakers must hold the line against tax increases

Maryland's state senators and delegates have their work cut out for them if they are to stop Gov. Martin O'Malley, Senate President Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch and their henchmen from raising taxes to pay for increased state spending ("Protest targets planned tax rise," May 14).

As Del. Herb McMillan reminded voters in a recent letter to The Sun, the budget they are proposing would increase total state spending from $34.7 billion to $35.3 billion — a $600 million (or 2 percent) rise in spending.

We need to fire up the electorate to make phone calls and send e-mails, texts and tweets to their elected representatives, telling them to vote against these tax increases that overburden working families and kill new small businesses.

And if they refuse, we should make a clean sweep of the General Assembly in 2014 by voting them all out of office.

Richard Shannahan, Lutherville