Washington Post Slams Maryland Dem Gov Candidate Ben Jealous’ High Spending Proposals As “Reckless” and “Irresponsible”

Maryland Democratic candidate for Governor Ben Jealous is continuing to refuse to explain how much his “free” college plan will cost. Now, even the Washington Post is calling Jealous out for his “reckless” plan that would “blow a Chesapeake Bay-sized hole in the state budget.”

Earlier this month, Jealous declared that he would work to impose “free” college if elected. But when the Washington Post asked Jealous how much his plan would cost, he had no response, because he hadn’t yet “estimated how much a Maryland tuition-free state program would cost.”

Jealous’ only explanation so far has been to say that he will pay for it by ending “mass-incarceration” – except, writes the Washington Post, that “would hardly make a dent” in paying for “free” college.

Jealous is promising voters “free” things without offering a way to pay for it. It’s a disingenuous attempt to hoodwink voters.

The Washington Post Editorial Board writes,
“The trouble is that Mr. Jealous’s blueprint — though it remains a tossed-off concept rather than a real proposal, since he hasn’t explained how he would pay for it — is probably no more affordable or equitable for Maryland than Mr. Sanders’s plan was for the United States.”

“Making a two- or four-year higher education a free entitlement for “every Marylander,” as Mr. Jealous’s website promises, would blow a Chesapeake Bay-sized hole in the state budget. At a conservative guess, it would cost several hundred million dollars annually — real money, even measured against the state’s annual tax-supported budget of $17 billion.”

“Mr. Jealous said gauzily that slashing the state’s prison population might help fund his proposal. Even if that were doable — and some reductions are already underway, with the savings earmarked for helping former inmates re-enter society — it would hardly make a dent in ensuring universal free tuition.”

“…Democrats such as Mr. Jealous are irresponsible to toss out pie-in-the-sky proposals without first doing the math and calculating the equity. They’ve swapped analysis for red-meat populism, calculating that the party base is too addled by President Trump to care. As political strategy, it’s craven; as governance, it would be reckless.Here’s hoping other candidates do better.”