—Barrington Williams, B1Daily

Maryland Governor Wes Moore has loss Maryland’s AAA credit rating.

Maryland has had a pristine bond rating of AAA for nearly 60 years given its budgetary affairs are normally handled well. But since Wes Moore has been governor, there have been 2 budget shortfalls.

This year’s Maryland budget fell over $3-billion dollars short, compounding with recent flooding could spell disaster for the state over the next 5 years.

“The optics don’t look good for the governor,” said economist Daraius Irani of Towson University. “The problem is he’s kind of the guy holding the bag when it went down.”

Despite prior reports Wes Moore’s office ignored any real analysis of the state medicaid implementation or looming budgetary shortfall.

Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch cited looming financial concerns and under-performance compared to other states with similar ratings.

Gov. Moore’s administration has struggled to come up with solvent budgets, and his office has refused to reach out to Black congressmen who could mend ties across the aisle. 

Moore blamed President Trump for his state’s downgrade rather than his own incompetence.

“To put it bluntly, this is a Trump downgrade. Over the last one hundred days, the federal administration’s decisions have wreaked havoc on the entire region, including Maryland,” Maryland’s Governor office said in a joint statement.

“This is Moody’s saying that Maryland’s propensity to raise taxes is not enough any more,” Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr. (R-Upper Shore) said Wednesday.

Despite prior reports Wes Moore’s office ignored any real analysis of the state’s medicaid implementation or looming budgetary shortfall.

 Maryland faces more than $1 billion in combined structural and cash deficits for 2025. It’s possible that gap may more than double to $2.7 billion in fiscal 2026 and 2027. Despite prior reports Wes Moore’s office ignored any real analysis of the state medicaid implementation or looming budgetary shortfall.

Economist insists that by fiscal 2028, the state will exhaust the money set aside to cover the costs of education reforms, and will require money from the general fund.

Governor Moore’s administration is responsible for this crisis, but will the voters of Maryland hold him accountable? 

—Barrington Williams, B1Daily