Budget Plan

The rich (and the Republicans that shill for them) have officially declared war on the poor. ("GOP pressing for budget cuts," Feb. 16) Since the '80s the rich have claimed a larger and larger percentage of wealth in the U.S. But there is never enough for them. God forbid we should end tax breaks for oil companies and wealthy Americans or cut in areas where there is the most waste (defense). Instead, they want to cut aid to the neediest, throw people out of work in a time of high unemployment, and cut funding for research and investment.

The budget package proposed by Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz this week includes $5.6 million to finish a Perry Hall park that officials say has languished for years. Improvements to Gough Park, a 17-acre site at the intersection of the intersection of Honeygo Boulevard and East Joppa Road, will include a new gymnasium. The county bought the land in 2000, but "the land has sat idle," said County Councilman David Marks, a Republican who lives in Perry Hall. With continuing development in Perry Hall, Marks said the site will provide residents with a "green space in a growing community.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said Tuesday morning that the Senate, House and governor are have different ideas about how to close the state's $1 billion projected budget shortfall, and he's planning to send several options to the floor including a "doomsday" plan made up entirely by cuts. Miller said he's also considering a budget plan that would involve "different revenues" than those Gov. Martin O'Malley suggested in his spending plan, but did not specify what any would be. The Senate president added that his chamber is getting considerable "push back" from critics of O'Malley's proposal to cap income tax deductions.

"Our biggest problems over the next 10 years are not deficits," President Barack Obama told House Republicans last week, according to those who attended the meeting. The president needs to deliver the same message to the public, loudly and clearly. The biggest problems we face are unemployment, stagnant wages, slow growth and widening inequality -- not deficits. The major goal must be to get jobs and wages back, not balance the budget. Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan is designed to lure the White House and Democrats, and the American public, into a debate over how to balance the federal budget in 10 years, not over whether it's worth doing.

Paul Ryan on the Republican ticket with Mitt Romney gives us a clear picture of where our country is headed if this team gets elected. The power of the wealthy will expand at the expense of the middle class and the poor. Medicare is just one example. Instead of the coverage on which seniors now depend, a limited amount of vouchers will be issued to purchase the best deal you can get from an insurance company that's in business to make as much profit as possible. And you're on your own beyond what the insurance company will pay. By contrast, Democrats will keep Medicare strong and solvent, with up to 80 percent of your medical bills paid no matter how big they are. The Republican plan would be devastating to individuals and families.

There is a saying that "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. " That seems to sum up the Republican approach to all issues. The latest example is the GOP-controlled House, which just passed a budget bill that bans the use of military facilities for gay marriages. Gay discrimination in the military has ended. Gay marriage is legal is many states. Yet the Republicans have used a religious approach to everything and now have applied it the budget. There is medical condition in which fluid builds up in the wrist, causing swelling that looks like a small knot on the skin.

Earlier this year, in an address to the nation after the horrific shooting spree in Tucson, Ariz., President Barack Obama implored Americans to work together, saying, "All of us — we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations. " Though there is general agreement that our country must always consider the future and invest in the education and health of our children, many would argue that adults have not lived up to our children's expectations.

The Baltimore City Council reversed course Thursday, rejecting millions of dollars in budget cuts it had endorsed earlier in the week, and passing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's original $2.3 billion spending plan. The abrupt shift derailed $6 million in cuts that had been proposed by Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young in an attempt to prevent the closure of recreation centers and fire companies. Nine council members voted for the mayor's budget, rejecting his proposed amendments.

Anne Arundel County residents would see their property taxes increase under the $1.2 billion budget proposed Monday by County Executive John R. Leopold, but that would be partially offset by a drop in trash pickup frequency and fees. County workers, meanwhile, would see an end to furloughs but receive no raises. Leopold's spending plan for the year that begins July 1 includes boosting the tax rate from 91 cents to 94.1 cents per $100 of assessed value. For a home with an assessed value of $261,200, the forecast countywide average, taxes would go up by about $128 for the year, officials said.

Harford Community College students could have to pay $8 more per credit hour next year, nearly 10 percent more, even as the college plans to spend less to operate than it expects to spend this year. HCC officials also plan to spend nearly $12 million in capital building and renovation projections next year to add and upgrade facilities. The college is anticipating spending $45.6 million to operate in the fiscal year beginning July 1, which is about 1.4 percent less than in the current budget year, John Cox, HCC's vice president for finance, operations and government relations, said at Tuesday evening's monthly HCC Board of Trustees meeting.

Baltimore residents would have to pay more to grab a cab. They would be hit with an additional fee in their water bills. And they would have 300 fewer firefighters on the payroll. But they also would have lower property taxes, better recreation centers and fewer potholes. Those are some of the "tough trade-offs" Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake proposed Wednesday under a budget plan that also includes major cutbacks in pension and health care benefits to help close a $30 million projected budget shortfall.

In case anyone has missed the dueling budget proposals out this week from Rep. Paul Ryan on the Republican side and Sen. Patty Murray for the Democrats, don't fret. You could easily have slept through the last four months and missed nothing. They are pretty much where the two sides have been for even longer than that. And that pretty well sums up where Washington stands on the issue of federal spending, taxes and the deficit. Both parties have won approval to some degree from voters for taking these stands, and so the incentive for actually coming up with a compromise is clearly too small for either to go out on a limb — at least for the moment.

Former President Bill Clinton told a sold-out crowd in Baltimore on Tuesday that he is confident Washington will work quickly through the nation's looming fiscal crisis after the election despite predictions that partisanship will continue to leave the federal government gridlocked next year. "Some of you may be worried about this fiscal cliff - don't be, yet," Clinton said of the combination of across-the-board spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to take effect automatically at the end of the year.

Mitt Romney may have won the first presidential debate, but what stuck in many people's minds was his threat to fire Big Bird. Apparently, Mr. Romney thinks America's debt problem can be fixed by picking up pennies along Sesame Street. Pressed to explain how he would balance the federal budget while cutting trillions of dollars in taxes, the allegedly masterful debater offered up just two specifics: He would repeal "Obamacare" (even though the Congressional Budget Office says the health care act actually reduces deficit spending)

The Anne Arundel County school board on Wednesday took its first step in considering plans proposed by Superintendent Kevin Maxwell to address the district's capital improvement and maintenance concerns. Maxwell presented his $240 million capital budget for fiscal year 2014, a $1.6 billion capital budget six-year plan and a $1.4 billion state-funded capital improvement plan at Wednesday's regplar meeting. School officials say that the capital improvement plan must be submitted to the state's Interagency Committee for School Construction by Oct. 5. School officials said that the school board will conduct a workshop on the capital budget and capital improvement plan on Sept.

Paul Ryan on the Republican ticket with Mitt Romney gives us a clear picture of where our country is headed if this team gets elected. The power of the wealthy will expand at the expense of the middle class and the poor. Medicare is just one example. Instead of the coverage on which seniors now depend, a limited amount of vouchers will be issued to purchase the best deal you can get from an insurance company that's in business to make as much profit as possible. And you're on your own beyond what the insurance company will pay. By contrast, Democrats will keep Medicare strong and solvent, with up to 80 percent of your medical bills paid no matter how big they are. The Republican plan would be devastating to individuals and families.

The budget package proposed by Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz this week includes $5.6 million to finish a Perry Hall park that officials say has languished for years. Improvements to Gough Park, a 17-acre site at the intersection of the intersection of Honeygo Boulevard and East Joppa Road, will include a new gymnasium. The county bought the land in 2000, but "the land has sat idle," said County Councilman David Marks, a Republican who lives in Perry Hall. With continuing development in Perry Hall, Marks said the site will provide residents with a "green space in a growing community.

Baltimore City Council PresidentBernard C. "Jack" Youngon Thursday wrote an open letter to MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blake, criticizing her about a plan to close three fire companies, and prompting a response from Rawlings-Blake's budget chief, Andrew Kleine. The City Council is slated to vote Thursday to authorize more than $6 million in cuts to Rawlings-Blake's budget that Young says could be directed toward recreation schools, fire companies and afterschool programs. Below is Young's letter and Kleine's memo.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies in the Baltimore area, with a high near 94. There is a 70 percent chance of precipitation, most likely after 1 p.m. Friday night is expected to be cloudy, with a low around 72. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Council discards cuts, approves mayor's budget plan : The Baltimore City Council reversed course Thursday, rejecting millions of dollars in budget cuts it had endorsed earlier in the week, and passing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's original $2.3 billion spending plan.

The Baltimore City Council reversed course Thursday, rejecting millions of dollars in budget cuts it had endorsed earlier in the week, and passing Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's original $2.3 billion spending plan. The abrupt shift derailed $6 million in cuts that had been proposed by Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young in an attempt to prevent the closure of recreation centers and fire companies. Nine council members voted for the mayor's budget, rejecting his proposed amendments.