In a bipartisan vote, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved painful, but necessary budget cuts to save the jobs of thousands of state workers. The BPW approved 413 million dollars in cuts for fiscal year 2021. According to Gov Larry Hogan he says he would not have recommended a single one of these cuts, and frankly, he could never have imagined even considering them. But sadly, as painful as these cuts are, the alternative to not taking action is much more severe. “State and local governments across America have already laid off 1.6 million government workers. Here in Maryland, not one single state employee has lost their job.Funding everything and cutting nothing is not an option. We are faced with the tough decision: do we fight to protect special interests, or do we fight to protect our workers? Do we cut spending, or do we cut people? And I am going to fight to keep people in their jobs.” Originally the total proposed budget cuts topped $672 million. Almost $250 million in proposed cuts have been pushed back to be discussed next month.
