WEBVTT - Gov. Wes Moore Talks Taxes, Disaster Relief 0:00:02.759 --> 0:00:08.160 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news, and. 0:00:08.240 --> 0:00:10.520 We want to discuss taxes at the state level as 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:13.600 well as Maryland. Governor Wes Moore yesterday announced a budget 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:16.600 plan that includes two billion dollars in spending cuts and 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:19.439 tax hikes for those making over five hundred thousand dollars 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:22.159 a year, and Governor Moore is joining us now to 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:25.919 discuss Governor, welcome back to Bloomberg TV and radio. The 0:00:26.000 --> 0:00:28.480 rates we're talking about here six and a quarter percent 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:30.800 tax on those making over half a million, at six 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:32.880 and a half for over a mill And you've pointed 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:35.760 out that some eighty percent of Marylanders will either actually 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:38.040 see a tax cut or see no increase at all. 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:40.240 But for those who are going to experience a hike 0:00:40.280 --> 0:00:43.240 if this plan goes forward, how do you pitch this 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:45.960 to them as a democratic governor knowing it might be 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:49.760 contrasted with at the federal level, a Republican president pursuing 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:50.440 tax cuts. 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.559 Yeah, it's great to be at the Kaylee. And you know, 0:00:53.800 --> 0:00:56.880 and I think about the budget that I introduced really 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.880 had three north stars that we're focusing on. One is 0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:03.279 is that we had to prioritize cuts. We have two 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:06.520 billion dollars worth of cuts. And I had to be 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.800 very strategic and very sober about this because the lens 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.520 I was looking at was that the programs either had 0:01:12.560 --> 0:01:16.959 to be both effective and efficient and sustainable. If they 0:01:16.959 --> 0:01:20.000 were not effective and sustainable, they were going to be cut. 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:21.840 So we had to take a really hard lens on that. 0:01:22.080 --> 0:01:24.240 The second piece was we had to do a better 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:27.120 job of modernizing government, and that was getting our systems 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:29.520 in place, making sure government is more efficient in the 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:31.800 way that we did our work. And that alone is 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:35.479 going to cut fifty million dollars and save fifty million 0:01:35.520 --> 0:01:38.119 dollars to Maryland this year alone. And the third piece 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.000 was we had to reform our tax code. And when 0:01:41.040 --> 0:01:43.360 I talk about reforming the tax code, we now have 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:45.640 two thirds of Marylanders are actually going to receive a 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.560 tax cut. Eighty two percent are either going to receive 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:51.200 a tax cut or no change at all. That we 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:54.440 are lowering the corporate tax rate, that we are eliminating 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:57.520 the inheritance tax and making it more making easier for 0:01:57.560 --> 0:01:59.360 businesses to be able to come and grow and stay 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:03.040 in Maryland because we're prioritizing things like regulatory form and 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:06.480 permitting reform and So this was about growth because the 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:09.840 biggest challenge we're facing as a state was that while 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:13.480 our budgets grew by seventy percent in the seven years 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:16.760 before I became the governor, our GDP grew by three 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:19.800 and so we were spending, but we weren't growing. So 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:22.239 by being able to, by being able to focus on 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:24.079 these issues, we're able to grow our economy. 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:26.640 Boy, Governor, you know you're on bloomberg when we start 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:29.360 a conversation like this. You've been with us since the 0:02:29.360 --> 0:02:31.560 beginning on balance of power, and it's great to have 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.920 you back today. And we've watched the tax debate evolve 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:36.800 a lot in that period of time, when you go 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:40.320 back to twenty seventeen, certainly and now through the Biden administration, 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:43.480 and this debate that we're experiencing right now is Donald 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:47.120 Trump takes office to extend the twenty seventeen tax cuts. 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:50.440 We're also talking about no tax on tips, no tax 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.840 on overtime, so many other items, including salt. You have 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:56.120 a workaround in your state when it comes to salt. 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.000 I'm wondering if all of this is designed to get 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:01.000 ahead of what's about to happen, and Watchhington. 0:03:01.200 --> 0:03:02.840 Well you know, one thing that we know is that 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:06.320 what happens in Washington does impact what happens to us 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:10.079 on the state level. That you know that Washington is 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:12.680 the only place that can print money, but that I 0:03:12.760 --> 0:03:15.120 know that this year, not only did I introduce a 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:17.560 balanced budget for the third year in a row, I 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:21.760 plan on passing a bipartisan balanced budget in my state. 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:24.320 That where that we know that the work that happens 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.040 in Washington does have direct impacts on us. And so 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.160 as this new administration comes on board, I know that 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:33.600 I am prepared to find common ground with this administration. 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:36.320 That We've introduced twenty six bills since I've been the 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:38.480 governor of the state of Maryland. We have gone twenty 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:40.280 six for twenty six, and we've gone twenty six for 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:44.280 twenty six bipartisan, with both Democrat and Republican support on 0:03:44.480 --> 0:03:47.200 every single bill that we have introduced. We know how 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:49.160 to work across the lines. We know how to get 0:03:49.200 --> 0:03:52.480 things done together, and on places where we can find 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:55.080 common ground with this new administration, we will. And on 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:57.560 places that we that I you know, we feel that 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:00.360 there is a need to push back, we'll do that 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:02.880 as well. But we're entering into this new phase in 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:03.920 a spirit of partnership. 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.560 Well, so as you kind of discuss two dynamics here, 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:10.280 being a partner in some sense to an incoming administration 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.240 and also being a foil to it as a governor 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:15.680 of a blue state, which one do you think is 0:04:15.720 --> 0:04:17.080 going to take greater precedents. 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:20.719 Well, I'm very clear that you know I am not 0:04:20.800 --> 0:04:23.000 the leader of their resistance. I'm the governor of Maryland. 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:25.840 The people elected me to represent the six and a 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:28.359 half million people of this state and making sure that 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.000 their dreams and their aspirations were going to be invested 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.920 in and supported in, and their freedoms and their rights 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:36.960 were going to be protected. And so we will work 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:40.400 with anybody to be able to ensure that Maryland is 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:43.520 able to have safer streets and that Maryland can have 0:04:43.640 --> 0:04:47.080 a growing economy, and that Maryland can have quality infrastructure 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:50.200 and the best public schools in America. And you know, 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:52.320 it's the same way that you know, before I ever 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:54.920 ran for office, I was I was in the business world, 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.360 and I was an army officer. And we were very 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:58.920 clear when I was at seventeen years old and I 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.440 joined the army, I learned a fore leave no one behind. 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:04.960 And that still is that is still my metric about 0:05:04.960 --> 0:05:06.720 whether or not I'm doing my job now, even as 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:07.560 the governor of Maryland. 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.320 You know, we heard Governor Greshen Whitmer from Michigan speaking 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:15.040 yesterday about the idea of trying to reach across the 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:18.080 aisle find common ground work with this incoming administration. The 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.880 fact of the matter is governors don't have a choice, 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.360 right you have something in common with mayors, your executives, 0:05:24.400 --> 0:05:26.599 and you have to work with the Trump administration. So 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.520 what's your opening shot, what's your message to Donald Trump 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:31.559 to get the ball rolling. 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:35.920 Our message is this is that if you can work 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:38.640 with their states and our states executives, I can tell 0:05:38.640 --> 0:05:40.400 you right now that we'll be able to produce the 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:44.080 kind of results that are the people in our states 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:45.880 that they hope for. You know, I think about what's 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:48.600 happening in the state of Maryland where you know, when 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:51.400 I was first elected, Maryland was forty third in the 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:55.560 country in unemployment. We're now going on fourteen straight months 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.880 of amongst the lowest unemployment rates in the entire country. 0:05:59.200 --> 0:06:01.800 That when I was an augurated that Maryland had gone 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:04.039 eight straight years where we saw eight year period, the 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:08.080 homicide rate in Maryland had nearly doubled Baltimore City when 0:06:08.160 --> 0:06:11.640 eight straight years of three hundred plus homicides. Now, two 0:06:11.720 --> 0:06:14.359 years into our administration, we've now seen some of the 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:18.359 fastest drops in homicides and violent crime anywhere in the 0:06:18.400 --> 0:06:21.400 country here in the state of Maryland. And so the 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.160 message that I really want to have to the new 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:26.960 administration is when we're able to work together and we're 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:29.719 able to have partnership, the partnership produces progress, and I 0:06:29.720 --> 0:06:33.240 think it's progress that the American people that they hoped for, 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:36.200 that they voted for, and that they expect from leaders 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:37.320 who are sitting in these seats. 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:41.200 Governor, we just have a minute left. But obviously Baltimore 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:43.640 experienced a disaster last year with the collapse of the 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:46.240 Key Bridge. Federal funding for that finally came through at 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:48.520 the end of last year. I'm sure you're well aware 0:06:48.560 --> 0:06:53.360 there is now a conversation about putting conditions around aid 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.640 for California as at grapples with the aftermath of fires. 0:06:56.680 --> 0:06:58.920 What would you say to those who are advocating for 0:06:59.080 --> 0:06:59.880 conditions on aid. 0:07:00.400 --> 0:07:04.240 You know, I'm never going to forget that first morning 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:07.680 of when the key Bridge collapsed, and when I saw 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:10.640 thirteen percent of my economy shut down, you know, when 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.480 I had six Marylanders we lost, and was trying to 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:16.680 console those families. And the thing that I wanted to 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.600 do that morning, that we continue to do was center 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:24.400 on humanity and center on working together. That every single 0:07:24.400 --> 0:07:26.360 one of our press conferences that we had, every single day, 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:28.560 we were with the mayor. We were with our federal leaders, 0:07:28.600 --> 0:07:31.480 the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Army, Corps of Engineers, 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:36.320 our federal delegation, Democrats and Republicans. We were with everybody united. 0:07:36.680 --> 0:07:40.320 And in these times of tragedy, what people are hoping 0:07:40.360 --> 0:07:42.120 for is that we can have a sense of unity 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.240 in the way that we recover and in the way 0:07:44.280 --> 0:07:47.960 that we rebuild. And so I would urge as California, 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.520 and I know I reached out to Gavin and the 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:53.280 folks California that first morning. The thing that I would 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:56.280 hope for them is that everybody who especially has to 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:59.160 vote on this, go to California and see it for yourself, 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.080 see the York see the need, and then go out 0:08:02.160 --> 0:08:04.000 and make the right decisions on behalf of the people. 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.520 It's great to have you back Governor. That's Wes Moore, 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:09.040 the governor of Maryland. 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:09.600 Thank you. 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.200 Let's stay close as this new year unfolds.