The Baltimore Sun reports:

"Afraid that the state could be headed for a recession, a committee of General Assembly leaders recommended last night cutting state spending increases by almost half.

"If Gov. Martin O'Malley follows the benchmark set by the Spending Affordability Committee - a bipartisan group of lawmakers assigned to keep state spending from exceeding economic growth - Maryland would spend 4.27 percent more on public services than it did last year, a smaller increase than in all but five of the past 25 years."

Of course, in a recent special session of the General Assembly the state expanded its Medicaid program. As I pointed out a week ago in the Baltimore Examiner:

"During the recent special legislative session to address Maryland's structural deficit, lawmakers increased a variety of taxes so revenue could keep up with projected spending. With future spending obligations being the rationale to raise taxes, it seems sensible that our legislators would take steps to control spending.

"Instead, they actually increased eligibility for Medicaid, a program that is already one of the largest in the state budget. At a time when all are concerned about the state's deficit, this was a short-sighted move."

Past spending for Medicaid clearly indicates that it goes up dramatically during an economic slowdown. Will our legislators never learn?