Maryland governor promised to end childhood poverty. Now he can't find money to pick up litter and mow grass along state highways.

Maryland Governor Wes Moore makes Chuck Schumer look camera shy. I can’t escape from him even by watching sports or listening to sports talk radio. He seems constantly to pop up on both types of broadcast.

Moore clearly enjoys the limelight, and he also has national ambitions. His fans say he could be the next Barack Obama. Moore, no doubt, concurs.

Indeed, during his 2022 run for governor, Moore displayed the “audacity of hope.” He promised to end childhood poverty, bridge the racial wealth gap, and hasten the transition to 100 percent clean energy.

There’s a problem though, and it’s not just the impossibility under the best of circumstances of accomplishing this trifecta. The additional problem is that Maryland doesn’t have the money.

The Washington Post reports:

The state faces an estimated $400 million budget hole next year that legislative analysts project will to balloon to about $1.8 billion annually in five years — driven by a long-standing mismatch between tax revenue and ambitious policy goals. Maryland’s revenue is expected to rise 3.3 percent annually while spending is set to grow by 5.1 percent, according to a June report by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services.

A similar dynamic has played out ahead of 17 of the past 20 budget cycles. . .with politicians pushing for policy wins passing legislation without putting money behind their plans.

This report, also from the Post, is to the same effect:

Maryland faces an across-the-board budget crunch caused by lackluster economic conditions and the expense of key policy goals. . . .

The state’s economy hasn’t kept pace with that of several other states. Maryland boasts the country’s lowest unemployment rate, but economists say that figure is fueled partly by jobseekers moving to other states.

Moore warned state and local leaders in August that budget cuts might be on the way because “our economic engine does not support our ambition.”

It certainly doesn’t support Moore’s ambition.

What to do? A key part of the answer, surely, is to make Maryland a less hostile place for businesses to operate in. According to the Tax Foundation’s annual State Business Tax Climate Index, Maryland ranks 46th among the states when it comes to a business-friendly environment. Neighboring Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Delaware all rank much higher — around the middle of the pack.

With a better environment for doing business, maybe those jobseekers (i.e., taxpayers) who are moving to other states would stay put.

But Moore isn’t proposing to address Maryland’s fiscal crisis that way. Instead, he wants to slash the transportation budget:

The administration of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is proposing to tackle a multibillion-dollar, long-term budget shortfall by imposing drastic cuts on transportation spending that would slow highway construction, reduce transit service and increase the cost of airport parking, according to a summary of the plans.

More traffic jams and a reduction in transit service. That’s a great way to attract business and keep folks from moving away from Maryland.

Moore’s cuts don’t stop there:

The administration has proposed saving money in the short term by. . .having less litter pickup and [less] mowing along state highways.

This doesn’t seem like the road to solvency, let alone prosperity. It seems more like the road to third-world status.

Maryland’s biggest budgetary problem resides not in transportation, but in education. According to the Post:

The largest mismatch between the spending plans on the books and the money to pay for them comes from an education overhaul called the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. It aims to boost achievement statewide, train students for careers outside of college and use the education system to alleviate some impacts of poverty, among other goals. It’s projected to cost $4 billion annually when fully implemented, which is several years away.

Moore hasn’t walked away from this “Blueprint,” but it’s hard to see how he can pay for it.

Faced with a budgetary reckoning, Moore has asked the local officials for their “trust” in navigating the cuts ahead. “Trust,” he says “demands transparency and trust demands truth, even if it’s hard.”

But why should anyone trust a politician so unmindful of the truth that he promised to end childhood poverty and now, just one year later, says Maryland can’t afford to mow grass?

I was going to conclude by saying that, with Maryland in such condition, at least we don’t have to worry about Moore ascending to national office. Then, I remembered that Gavin Newsom may do so, either next year or in 2028.