Christmas starts earlier every year. The Heat Miser, aka Governor Martin O'Malley, has already taken his throne in Annapolis and is prepared to drain the lifeforce of every poor, middle-class and wealthy individual in the state of Maryland.

In 36 years, I have never witnessed a regressive tax plan of this magnitude. The sheer number of new taxes being proposed is simply beyond belief. It's more a question of "which taxes are not going to be increased?" Martin O'Malley, Bill Bronrott, Susan Lee, Bill Frick, and Brian Frosh make Bill Clinton seem like a supply-sider by comparison. Usually, a government proposes increasing the income tax or the sales tax; not both.

Local Catholic Church officials released a document reminding lawmakers that taxation should be based on the ability of an individual to pay. A progressive tax system takes more from those who can afford to pay more. The O'Malley plan is not progressive at all; it is the largest regressive tax increase in Maryland history.

What does the average working-class Maryland man do after work? He might go to a bar or pub, smoke cigarettes and have one or more drinks. Well, guess who's working the bar tonight? The governor himself, and that tab is going to send our working-class man into bankruptcy. How about a whopping $3 tax ($2 MD + $1 Federal) per pack of cigarettes? At a pack a day, that comes to $1095 a year! Now add on Montgomery County's own Jennie Forehand $2 liquor tax on those frosty mugs... $730 a year! Granted, I'm not endorsing this as a healthy lifestyle, but the lower one's income is, the more likely a person is to smoke. Here our self-proclaimed "progressive" governor has added almost $2000 to the financial burden of those least able to afford it, and that covers only 2 of the taxes on the list.

And speaking of healthy lifestyles, if you belong to a gym or health club, and are trying to live a healthy lifestyle, the governor is going to punish you! Shame on you for working out! Now pay the new O'Malley-Bronrott-Lee-Frick-Frosh health club tax.

How about driving up the already inflated cost of rent with the new real estate services tax? Martin O'Malley will do it. So desperate is he for every last cent that he can redirect to a far-left agenda and his wealthy campaign contributors, that he is willing to devastate the already devastated poor across the state of Maryland.

So let's have a quick taxation tutorial: Taxes serve 3 purposes in society, and one can argue against all three, but three they are. First, taxes provide funds for government, which ideally exists to protect the Constitution rights of all Americans and should limit its involvement in our lives. Second, taxes can affect the economy in positive and negative ways. Finally, taxes can be used to modify behavior, although I would argue that in most cases that is not true. Behaviors are notoriously hard to change, and citizens simply end up paying more taxes.

What, then, to make of this nightmarish O'Malley mother of all tax increases? It raises incredible amounts of money from the poorest among us and does not even clarify what that amount will be spent on. I'm proud to have opposed the outrageous, unfunded Thornton mandates during the election last year, when every intelligent person knew that a) we could not afford it, and b) the money has had no effect on the worst schools in the state. I have advocated switching to a funding system based on merits of particular projects and reforms. This would not only keep the budget within its means, but would also force jurisdictions such as Baltimore to finally provide the education its students deserve. All the politicians supporting this simply want more money to play with and give to their bigshot contributors - who then pay them back with more contributions.

Stop the madness; call your delegates and senator and tell them you oppose this inhuman, mean-spirited, draconian, regressive tax scheme. But no one should be surprised; if you elect far-left Democrats, your wallet is going to take a hit. Don't blame me, I voted for Ehrlich.

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Crime Wave Continues

I hate to keep saying I told you so, but I continue to be absolutely vindicated as the violent crime wave continues in Montgomery County. I was the only candidate who talked about crime during the campaign last year, and our current delegates famously have done nothing to stop our current crime wave that is now in its second year.

Are you ready for this? 6:40 P.M., Halloween night... The Safeway in Twinbrook, packed with customers. Four masked men with guns shoot a cashier and get away. The record of our elected officials during this violent crime wave has been shameful.

I leave you with this quote from the Gazette today, if you want to know the effects of government inaction on violent crime:

"Ghassan Abbasi, who moved to the neighborhood two weeks ago, came upon the crime [scene] as he approached the supermarket last night."

‘‘I just moved here from California actually,” he said. ‘‘That was an ugly sight to see right away.” Abbasi says he is already considering moving.