"They may still be out there but they're not paying taxes[.]" This statement seems to imply that Baltimore County citizens are doing something wrong. If these folks are unemployed it may be better said that, "fewer people owe taxes because fewer people are working."

The Baltimore County finance office continues to experience budget problems due to miscalculated revenue estimates. And once again, they are blaming the Comptroller’s Office.

While it is true that many local governments are struggling to accurately predict revenues in these tumultuous economic times, no one except Baltimore County continues to shift the blame. The fact is that the Comptroller’s Office has provided the same if not more data on taxpayers to all of Maryland’s 23 counties and Baltimore City. Some jurisdictions experiencing wild fluctuations in revenue have even take the prudent step of requesting more information and analysis from the Comptroller’s Office to be better armed in their budgetary planning.

No doubt these tough economic times have been difficult for Maryland families and local governments but laying misguided blame offers no solution. In the coming year and beyond, we look forward to working collaboratively with Baltimore County, and helping the Office of Budget and Finance address these legitimate challenges. In that spirit, we sincerely hope that this misguided and counterproductive finger pointing will come to an end.

Christine Feldmann
Comptroller's Office

Ms. Feldman, that is why we call them politicians. They are experts in passing the bucks we don't have, and not having to take blame and bare the accountability.

Speaking of finger pointing, I would like to POINT out that when it comes to their cozy relationship with many developers, money is of no consequence.

The equation goes something like this: PUD = (YORKWAY DEVELOPMENT + FORT HOWARD DEVELOPMENT.)

I think I will save this one for my worker bee blog!

Lorna, never waste an opportunity to spread the truth.

Sean, you took the words right off my keys. What we are witnessing is the destabilization of Baltimore County. I beat this horse to death when I ran for office and it fell on the deaf ears of the two voters that showed up in the primary.

This link is very disturbing. It will probably only be available this weekend before another "Talking Points," replaces it.

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/oreilly/index.html

Another startling fact facing this country is the rapid decline of our cities. For example in Detroit 47% of the people are functionally illiterate. The demand for social services led to tens of thousands showing up at selected sites seeking federal aid. Needless to say there was utter chaos.

As bloggers we should be asking the tough questions and demanding the truth. It appears that many of our political leaders, as eloquently stated by Jack Nicholson "can't handle the truth."

Hi Sean, Pray tell - what minorities are you referring to? And beyond that, what exactly do you feel is/are the specific cause(s) for so called "running?" I suspect if you delve into the issue even more deeply, you will find that folks of all races/creeds/denominations are running..... specifically from CRIME!!!

Sean, there is an equation and its application regarding the description of anxiety. The syndrome is called "fight or flight."

The course of treatment is behavior modification which basically means stay in the situation until one is comfortable and the anxiety dissipates.

In the case of destabilization numerous issues are introduced into the equation of the culture clash. These varied components could include religion, age, social customs, music and so on.

For example, look at the situation in Towson and the clash between the TU students and the home owners. Huge issues, one of which was covered by Patch on Shellenberger and his attempt to deal with a particular bar and binge drinking.

The impact of this complex issue is verified in numerous social studies and crime analysis. There is a direct correlation between Section 8 and crime.

You can gather an enormous amount of information just by looking at migration and the census figures.

I have stated this before, look at France, England and Germany and the impact on their countries.

Sean - I too am familiar with the so called "block busting" methods realtors used in the 50s - but I am referring to 2011 and that I see as running from "crime" that is blighting communities little, by little, but definitely moving forward as a steady pace in some directions more than others.

Sean, there are those that live in their ivory towers and are not directly impacted by such mundane issues. Then there is the middle class that are right in the middle of the upheaval.

I would say that you are correct regarding the racial overtones that permeate every issue in today's society. This will always be a fact of life as long as humans are fallible.

What I think is a unique aspect to the issue of race, is there are mitigating circumstances that interject conflict within the same race. Again the issue of humans as fallible.

Some recent examples are Northern Ireland, Africa and its issues of genocide, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Race is just one component of destabilization. It is hard for anyone to close their eyes when it is staring you in the face.

Buzz, but the story indicates that the some of those off the tax rolls are in the upper brackets. That means they probably moved right out of the ivory towers. Now, does my theory explain why they moved? No. It is just an opinion. Maybe the did move because of high taxes. I really don't know. I am just discussing possibilities. As you said on another story thread, back and forth is what makes these comment sections active. But, again, everything I've typed is just speculation and opinion. For all I really know, the top tax bracket folks that moved may be all minority. Who really knows?

Sean, regarding your 11:52 pm post - Bingo!

There is a saying that goes, "It is what it is." I think it goes beyond race into the various issues of a culture divide and class distinction. Remember the French Revolution? The impetuous for the conflict was based on class distinction.

The issues we are discussing have been going on since biblical times and just like personalities each one of us is different.

Chuck, interesting comment, very interesting.

If I had to analyze your comment, would I be far off in saying that your post refers to a view from someone living behind a gated community where the trash is piled neatly in a can and disposed of, while the reality is far different on the other side of the gate.

Fooled me. I thought it was a fictitious place, like Santa Town or such. Shows you how much I know.

Time to meet the Sand Man.

Sean, during my time on this site both as a commentator and a blogger, I have taken many hits. I think it goes with the territory, as long as the comments do not violate the terms of use.

I have always responded to such issues with research, knowledge and articulation.

There are two ways to make a presentation in a conversation of discourse. One approach relies on emotion while the other deals in facts. Generally speaking the facts triumph over the emotion.

I also think it is important to acknowledge that one could be wrong in their assessment. Excepting the responsibility regarding ones position albeit wrong, in the long run it will only add to the objectivity of the writer.

People are leaving Baltimore County because it's starting to look like the city. People are leaving the state of MD, people have had it.

I have a simple plan. Let’s create jobs. If we create jobs, we create.....TAX PAYERS! Perhaps if we gave tax breaks to companies to start businesses in our area, we could lower unemployment. If we lower unemployment we have people paying income tax, sales tax and property tax. Maybe, we need politicians that can tackle the real problems of this state, and not just the problem of lost shopping carts.

As voters we should be reminding our elected officials (everyday) of their campaign platforms/promises to create jobs.

Mr. Pritt, at the risk of appearing cynical, my best understanding of why we don't see more long-term strategies by elected officials for creating jobs and in turn revenue for all communities, is because it takes time. What I sense is that rhetoric about "balancing budgets" and immediate tax strategies (sometimes just re-shuffling of the deck) leads to immediate headlines for the seemingly never-ending election cycle. Being an elected official has become a career choice and not a response to serve. If we want change in our economy and in our communities, we, the private sector, must plan it and execute it, be willing to take all the risk let and the current system thrive on our successes.

I have repeatably stated that the middle class is voting with their feet and leaving Baltimore County.

The sad part is that the liberal politicians can't see the results of their own doing.

Sean, I almost missed you way up there. I was watching "The "Factor" tonight and the conservative blogger Andrew Breightbart who broke the Weiner story and he was talking about being vilified by the left.

O'Reilly even chimed in that he too is a target. Its like being a cop, you are taught how to handle taunts.

You will find that quite a few of these comments written by people using pseudonyms have very little in the way of facts, or basic research. They rely on emotion and when challenged by someone knowledgeable they flee.

I'd like to know how many actually left the state all together.Between higher tax rates from the County and State,crime which has moved in to the County from the City,bad use of Tax money from the County Council and State we the Tax payers who work for a living and not living on the dole have had it! You'd think the Idiots and I mean Idiots would lower the Property Taxes because a Home today is not worth what it was 3yrs ago.This County and State is nothing more than a thieving house full of Officials who have the intellegence of a Baboon and I for one will be leaving this loosing County and State when I retire.And if people can afford it they should too.

The decision makers in the government on all levels should be concentrating on (1) getting people back to work. Trickle down theories do not work. They have never worked. The way the economy works best is when money is circulating. It cannot circulate if Giant corporations and Government taxes take all of the money out of our pocket. (2) Maybe we should go into austerity mode and decide what has the priority. Should we really be talking about air conditioning in schools and getting the county to cut grass because it "looks ugly"? We should be putting programs in place which get people back to work. (3) I would love to see my taxes go down, but the roads need resurfacing now. How long will my car last if I have to 4-wheel it every day all day? (5) Crime, Crime, Crime. The crime rate should be paid attention to, but everything I see indicates that it is going down not up. We can scream and emote all we want about how we feel about crime but populations move around. The biggest thing we need to do in the country, state and county is stop being so selfish. We need to demand that the community be improve not scream about how much money "I" am paying in taxes. It we focus on bettering the community we will enjoy our community and see the positive things that are happening here. Put idle kids to work and crime will go down.

Neighborhood Stability (.) Grass jnot greener on the other side. Hidden taxes(3) three in PA and the price of gas. The tax credit to hire new employees. Where are the jobs? Where are the neighborhood stability fund raisers to stop foreclosures. And Peter F. knows you only have to file to the extent of if you owe. Statistics are wrong as usual. Help a neighbor, hire, hire, hire!!! I am not pointing fingers just wondering who will sue the big bank and who will do the job creation? Crime goes down when there are jobs, period.

People in Baltimore County are voting with their feet. I have said this until I'm blue in the face. Baltimore County is becoming an annex of Baltimore City.

The census reports reveal an influx of poor and immigrants moving into the county. The areas of Dundalk, Essex and Cockeysville are seeing an increase in these demographics. As a sanctuary county illegals are also choosing to move here.

There are huge cost factors associated with this influx, impacting the county's health care system, food stamps, education, housing vouchers, ESOL just to name a few of these entitlement programs.

These issues will eventually lead to the destabilization of communities. The cause-ital factors include the flight of the middle and upper class, unsold homes that glut the market leaving a void in the revenues required to keep pace with the entitlements.

The unemployment for the 7th District is well above the 9.2% of the country.

Political correctness has run amok and we are now seeing the stark reality.

Take the No Child Left Behind scandal in Atlanta. This is the direction of this country in which a recent poll conducted by ABC and the Washington Post revealed that of those interviewed 69% felt the country was headed in the wrong direction.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303678704576441752866036530.html

Your Nose is growing Pinnochio.

The census said nothing of the kind.

Here, I will even make it easy for you Pinnochio.

http://census.maryland.gov/

Prove it.

All of this can be summed up by the quote by Alan Greenspan when he said, “Whatever you tax, you get less of.”

The proof is in the pudding! Keep the Taxes coming and the People will leave. Do you really think that you can just keep taxing us and we wont notice that nothing is improving! Jokes on you guys! Maybe you should read the crime report!

Dian, while I feel you heart is in the right place, the facts are in another.

There have been other programs developed to deal with the issues you speak of and they have failed.

These programs are too late and too little. Dutch is MIA, and resent news reports reveal many of problems that got us to this point are still unaddressed.