A Baltimore Business Journal report from July 2008 indicates that Maryland slipped two places on Forbes’ list of best states to do business.  The state ranked 40th in the country for business costs, which include the price of energy, labor and taxes to employ workers in Maryland.

And a Business Week report published October 3rd, indicates that Maryland faces a projected 7.7% budget gap, roughly $1.1 billion dollars, which places the state in the top ten states unable to pay for themselves.  According to the report, which cites data released at the end of September from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Maryland may well join California in going to Washington for a bailout to help pay salaries for firemen, teachers and other state employees.

We are living in difficult economic times.

But living in Maryland under the current administration is going to become more difficult.  Just look at the last two years to see the trends begin.

Since Martin O’Malley took office, nearly 8,000 jobs have been lost.  The state legislature passed a $1.4 billion dollar tax hike that failed to produce expected revenues when the economy and housing market took a nose dive.

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A recent survey by the Kauffman Foundation found the top threat to “your own economic situation” is higher taxes.

While Barak Obama continues to claim that he will lower taxes for 95% of the population, little has been said about the 5% who will owe Uncle Sam for their “fair share” of the burden.

And Martin O’Malley, desperate to raise revenue to solve the burgeoning state budget deficit, may well look to the Obama plan as a model to address the budget shortfall on looming on the Maryland horizon.

A little lesson in bar stool economics is all that is required to see just what that will look like:

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