MD state spending budget will include billions in cuts

State budgets almost always have shortfalls that have to be filled. This year isn’t anything new. Creative tactics are being employed across the board, however especially in Maryland. Maryland is facing unfunded liabilities. That means they might owe billions of dollars they can’t afford. The state might just have to take out short term installment loans to survive.

MD having issues with the spending budget

There’s a huge shortage the Maryland State budget has to face. It is at about $1.6 billion right now. Governor O’Malley is proposing that the full budget shortfall be filled without adding any taxes or fees to the state budget. Beyond the individual year’s shortfall, MD also has more than $18 billion in unfunded pensions due in the next 25 years. There is going to be an expected added $15 billion also. This can be due to health costs for instance Medicare and Medicaid.

How you can repair Maryland's budget troubles

Governor O'Malley, a democrat, has several ideas. There are different ways to fix the budget. There can be several million, if not billions in reductions to state budgets. Lots of emergency cash will be provided for state needs by state employees as well. The state is inviting applications for a buyout offer — where the state pays employees to leave their jobs. There have already been 1,500 applications for buyouts, most of which the state is very likely to accept.

Argument over expense of health care

A point of rivalry for a large part of the Maryland legislature is medical care. There is a huge shortage built to the system. There are already going to be $180 million in spending budget cuts for long term MD providers. States are responsible for a significant portion of the expenses of Medicare and Medicaid, and with budgets being stretched to the limit, the amount they are willing to pay is going down. For many long-term care facilities, that means trying to care for seriously ill patients on less and less money every day. There are not going to be any fees or taxes added in MD. That just means the state will make an effort to live off less for a while to see if it works.

Articles cited

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/o-malley-budget-proposal-will-make-widespread-cuts.html