“A one-time bonus can’t pay the bills forever”
Former Baltimore County Executive under then-Governor Larry Hogan, Don Mohler penned an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun blasting Republicans for disingenuously blaming Governor Wes Moore for a budget deficit that was first predicted in 2017. As Mohler notes, the state received billions of federal dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic, which Hogan used to mask Maryland’s ongoing fiscal crisis.
Key quotes:
- Maryland… received a surge of resources from the federal government during the COVID-19 crisis. These funds made it possible for Hogan and his allies to paint a rosy picture of Maryland’s finances at the end of the Republican governor’s term — despite expert warnings as far back as 2017 that the state was facing a long-term budget crunch.
- Gov. Moore has been clear since day one of his administration that the state’s finances were not as rosy as Hogan led Marylanders to believe. In a letter to the state legislature in January 2023, the governor wrote that Maryland was experiencing a temporary “surplus created by a series of rare financial tailwinds unlikely to continue.” At the same time, Moore called for fiscal restraint in an op-ed published by The Baltimore Sun.
- Republicans can spend thousands of dollars in dark money to rewrite history, but it is disingenuous to blame our current governor for a long-predicted budget crisis that’s being exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s White House. Federal COVID-19 funds may have provided a temporary surplus, but those resources were never going to last.
Read the full op-ed below:
Baltimore Sun: The Budget Wes Moore Really Inherited | GUEST COMMENTARY
By Don Mohler
March 29, 2025
Anyone who’s managed a household budget knows that a one-time bonus can’t pay the bills forever. For decades, county executives in Baltimore County adhered to this time-honored budgetary principle to balance budgets and maintain its AAA bond rating.
This simple math was seemingly lost on former Governor Larry Hogan’s administration. Maryland, like every other state in the union, received a surge of resources from the federal government during the COVID-19 crisis. These funds made it possible for Hogan and his allies to paint a rosy picture of Maryland’s finances at the end of the Republican governor’s term — despite expert warnings as far back as 2017 that the state was facing a long-term budget crunch. Hogan knew that he would be long gone, so an inevitable budget shortfall was not his concern.
These COVID-19 funds were a sugar high, not a structural solution. Instead of investing in enduring solutions to grow Maryland’s economy and shore up state finances, Gov. Hogan took a chainsaw to our state agencies and left key positions vacant. This led to long-term financial consequences, such as a costly $23 million settlement for stolen wages from public servants and inefficient service delivery during the pandemic, which wiped out any short-term savings. While overseeing rampant wage theft, Hogan funneled tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to his real estate firm’s listed clients and his own family.
So where are we now? Ignoring the financial recklessness of the Hogan administration, Republicans are now blaming Gov. Wes Moore for a structural deficit that fiscal experts have warned us about for the past eight years.
Gov. Moore has been clear since day one of his administration that the state’s finances were not as rosy as Hogan led Marylanders to believe. In a letter to the state legislature in January 2023, the governor wrote that Maryland was experiencing a temporary “surplus created by a series of rare financial tailwinds unlikely to continue.” At the same time, Moore called for fiscal restraint in an op-ed published by The Baltimore Sun.
The Moore-Miller administration followed through by consistently introducing budgets with general funds smaller than the previous year — including Hogan’s final budget proposal in 2022. This January, Gov. Moore proposed his initial plan to close the state’s $3 billion structural deficit by combining $2 billion in cuts with $1 billion in new revenue generated through changes to the tax code.
Bad faith actors are cherry-picking elements of Moore’s proposal to make it seem like he wants to raise taxes on the middle class. In fact, independent experts praised the governor’s January plan, pointing to analysis that shows it cuts taxes for many Marylanders. Under the latest version of the budget plan that Moore and legislative leaders recently agreed upon, 94% of Marylanders will see either lower taxes or no change, the governor says. The proposal is overwhelmingly paid for by making sure the top 1% of earners — those who make more than $700,000 a year — pay their fair share.
Gov. Moore’s plan is focused on the future. In addition to cutting taxes for most Marylanders, his proposal prioritizes workforce and business development so we can grow our economy and be out of this fiscal mess for good. He also wants to make sure we are funding the critical services Marylanders depend on — like access to health care — at a time when life-threatening cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP are being proposed on Capitol Hill.
Gov. Moore knows the middle class is feeling the squeeze – which is why he is prioritizing relief. In partnership with the General Assembly, the governor is working to assist federal workers in finding jobs in the private and public sectors, finalize a budget that lifts up the middle class, and positions Maryland to continue to grow in these uncertain times.
Republicans can spend thousands of dollars in dark money to rewrite history, but it is disingenuous to blame our current governor for a long-predicted budget crisis that’s being exacerbated by President Donald Trump’s White House. Federal COVID-19 funds may have provided a temporary surplus, but those resources were never going to last. It is Budget Preparation 101. Facts matter.
Don Mohler served as the Baltimore County executive in 2018.