Readers respond to last week’s Feedback Friday topic, which was:
$2.5 Billion State Budget Surplus!
This week we learned that Maryland has actually accrued a $2.5 Billion budget surplus, representing about 5% of the State’s $48 Billion budget in 2021. The question now: What to do with the surplus?
State Comptroller Peter Franchot went on record stating, “The state’s surplus is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in programs that lift all Marylanders and help stabilize housing and other critical expenses for our lower- and middle-income families. We must deliver this money quickly to those who need it most and not into the hands of fraudsters.”
He added: “We should put most of the surplus in the state’s Rainy Day Fund and create a proper structure for addressing these urgent needs that our current systems are failing to do effectively.”
Our questions to you:
Do you agree with Comptroller Franchot’s assessment of the surplus opportunity OR do you think the State should use the funds in other ways? If the latter, how/what?
Here’s what you said:
Take that money and educate the children in Baltimore. It is beyond criminal that these children are not receiving any education while the crocket politicians are getting way more money than they deserve. If you educate these children, you create hope for the future. My hope is that some little green men take these criminal politicians to another planet.
Linda Deak, Annapolis
Use the budget surplus to reimburse taxpayers who are unable to access the public school bus system they have paid. With 2 kids unable to utilize the bus service they are entitled to use, we have had to secure the service of an AuPair to provide transportation and supervision in the absence of both working parents. Time to cut a check back to the tax payers...it's their money!
Joe Smith, Edgewater
Bicycle infrastructure is way behind in Maryland, especially with the massive increase in outdoor and bicycling activity since COVID. Please allot some of this surplus to bicycle infrastructure and multi-use natural surface trails and skills parks. Specifically, please consider finishing the South Shore Trail and assisting AA county with converting Crownsville Hospital to outdoor recreation as Steuart Pittman has announced as a top priority. Thank you!
Brad Snakenberg, Crownsville
While it would be nice to create a rainy day fund, there is a HUGE crisis happening now that is not being addressed on any scale and that is mental health, but particularly that of our youth. There aren't enough resources to handle the needs from the emergency rooms and not enough qualified care providers that accept insurance. Those providers who really are good with kids and provide great care are moving to not accepting insurance so lower and middle income families don't have access to good care. I, as an adult, that suffers from mental health disease, have found myself sometimes more knowledgeable than some providers I have seen, especially on new modalities and treatments. I have had to become my own advocate and expert on my own mental health care. Children and most parents don't have the knowledge to be able to do this and should be able to rely on their mental health professionals to help them and provide not only medication and therapy, but also alternate therapies that might help, for example yoga, meditation, exercise, and acupuncture to name a few. There are many non-profit organizations trying to help raise money for grants to provide mental health services to both youth and teachers in schools, but it is not enough. There needs to be programs where mental health emergencies can be dealt with in a timely manner and where the follow up resources, by qualified individuals, are available to EVERYONE that need it. Parents can have problems recognizing a child with a mental health crisis versus "just a phase" and it may come from a lack of knowledge or that they too need mental health services. Mental health disease can start at any age and is a life long disease like addiction...decisions need to be made daily on how we feel, how we process the world around us, how we handle the thoughts within ourselves and the thoughts others have about us. This crisis, if not addressed immediately, will take the lives of our future generations at a rate that we cannot keep up with, but because of the stigma associated with mental health will still be a silent killer.
I beg Peter Franchot to take that surplus and address this issue immediately before more of our young people take their own lives because they feel they are not seen nor heard!
Tiffany Jackson, Millersville
How about a tax refund to hard working taxpayers? Property tax refunds would be a big help. When the budget is short they raise taxes instead of cutting spending. The government is already a massive drain on our system. An investigative journalist should look at the budget and see how much we spend on each child in school (school budget divided by the number of kids in school) and how much of that spending is on school administrators versus the classroom and teachers. People would be shocked at the numbers. Same thing needed for the rest of the budget. When you look at the numbers in ways we can understand the problem is clear---too much government spending!
Julia Jones, Edgewater
Put the money back into the unemployment fund they decided to give away and stop charging the businesses 350% more. I inquired to the $40,000 increase in our unemployment insurance, because we (businesses) were promised the increase in Covid unemployment wouldn't affect us. The DLLR response was "Oh, no, we didn't even use 2020 calculations. You’re now paying from table F and you were paying from table A." That is supposed to be an acceptable answer? I used the PPP loan to bring back and hold on to our employees, so my company didn't even use that much unemployment.
Mark Boback, Millersville
We agree that it should be applied to rainy day but only a third. The balance should be applied to school budget, improving teaching ways, structure, and more teachers.
Leigh Couture, Gambills
Maryland roads including Interstate highways are in desperate need of repair. Some roads are in such poor condition that they are dangerous to drive the speed limit. Part of this money could provide some needed repairs rather than using metal plates to cover these sections of road.
David Hartman, Stevensville
I like the idea to spend some of our surplus on improving our state residents to help lower income people, and hopefully to improve the numbers of affordable housing units available. As I understand it, we have a shortage of over 4,000 units for people of lower income. That could be greatly decreased with some innovative housing planning. Then there is our greening problem with so much tree loss within the AA county. Plus farming environmental problems and bridges needing repairs is another example of great need!
Diane Knaus, Glen Burnie
