Fresh off its victory to expand Medicaid in Maryland, the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative is seeking to raise taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and businesses in order to fund even more Medicaid spending. Amazingly, the plan's sponsor claims, "The plan will help alleviate the economic burden on Marylanders..." I guess he doesn't think that taxes are an economic burden.

The Democrats who run the General Assembly, to their credit, are skeptical. The state raised taxes last year to deal with a structural deficit but there are still problems trying to match spending with revenue. But the same Democrats who are expressing reservations about raising taxes and expanding Medicaid now sounded this way during earlier sessions of the General Assembly. Their spines weakened, however, under the calls to "do something" about the uninsured. Sadly for Maryland taxpayers, I'm betting on a similar outcome for this idea.