Gov. Martin O'Malley delivered his 2010 State of the State address on Tuesday before a joint session of the Maryland General Assembly, his fourth and last such address as Governor. The full text of his short sighted diatribe can be found here.

By all indications O'Malley and his progressive ilk in Annapolis is in over their heads and lack the cognitive tools to guide this State into a sustainable recovery.

As progressives drain State coffers, reliance on federal bailouts is placing an undue burden on the National Debt which in turn is hurting all Americans with higher taxes to sustain all levels of government, local, State and Federal for generations. All levels of government have bought into a pyramid scheme that has found its pinnacle, the whole thing is about to crash, hard, really hard. It's akin to using one charge card to pay off another while spending goes unabated maxing out both cards.

The Republican response to O'Malley's address came from Senator Alan Kittleman:

I had hoped that Governor O'Malley’s State of the State address would offer concrete plans to create jobs and reduce government spending.  But his speech leaves me with only one conclusion: Our Governor is out of touch...out of ideas....and out of money.

On the O’Malley Budget Deficit

In 2007, the outgoing Republican governor handed Governor O’Malley a one billion dollar surplus to prepare the state for tough economic times.

Sadly, Governor O’Malley ignored warnings of a coming recession and spent that money on a raft of new government programs. The next Governor will have to reconcile over eight billion dollars in deficits caused by Governor O’Malley’s inaction in resolving Maryland’s budget crisis.

On O’Malley’s Budget Management

Governor O’Malley’s four years of budget management are marked by more government spending and more debt which will be saddled on you and future generations of Marylanders.

On Maryland’s Business Climate and Job Creation in Maryland

A $3000 tax credit for new job creation does not reverse the past 3 years of anti-business leadership by Governor O’Malley. Businesses can’t hire new employees when they don’t have work – and Maryland’s business climate has dropped from 24th to 45th in the last 3 years.

On the Rejection of Republican Deficit Reduction Plans

Governor O’Malley and Democrat leaders in Annapolis have rejected commonsense reforms offered by Republicans lawmakers to solve the deficit and encourage job growth.  If the Senate Republicans’ plan, known as the “Stoltzfus Amendment,” had passed in 2007, the State's deficit would be a fraction of what it is today, and you'd be keeping more of your own money to save for your future. Our Republican colleagues in the House of Delegates also offered budget amendments to reduce state spending, but time and time again they were rejected by purely partisan roll call votes by the Democrat majority.

On the Priorities of the 2010 Legislative Session

The 2010 legislative session MUST BE ABOUT REDUCING GOVERNMENT SPENDING. We must approach every policy decision with two questions: (1) Will it strengthen Maryland’s economic security? and (2) Will it lessen the financial burden on our citizens? It is critical that the General Assembly pass long-term mandate reform to stop the automatic increases that spur government spending. New programs initiated over the past three years by Governor O’Malley also need to be curtailed.

On A Plan For Maryland’s Future for Business Expansion and Job Growth

This year’s budget must position the state so that in subsequent years, our state’s leaders can focus on restoring a healthy business climate to boost the growth of private sector businesses and jobs. This Program for the Future of Maryland must include:

• Repealing Governor O'Malley's 20% increase in the sales tax to relieve consumers and small businesses and spur private sector spending in Maryland.
• Rolling back the additional $1 billion in tax increases on personal incomes and small businesses that are hindering job growth.
• Removing government barriers and new regulations that prevent local businesses from investing in jobs and technology.

The Maryland Public Television coverage of the 2010 State of the State address has been posted on the MPT website at http://video.mpt.tv/video/1402879744/ The 51-minute program contains pre-speech commentary by the MPT State House reporters, the full speech by Governor Martin O'Malley and the Republican response presented by Senator Allan Kittleman (the GOP response begins at 41:41 on the timer).

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