Meanwhile, here in Baltimore, the knee-jerk anti-taxers have scored a great victory for the people of this city, one that will hasten the decline of my town and put scores of people out of work.

The city council narrowly defeated a horrific four-cent bottle tax that would have raised enough money to keep some essential services going, such as sanitation work.

So all those deposit-free (because Maryland has never instituted a deposit law) bottles of glorified tap water from Coke and Pepsi that people throw on the sidewalks will stay there until some citizen picks them up out of the goodness of his heart. Vacant lots will be abandoned. More people will flee Baltimore in disgust. And people will lose their jobs.

Over four cents per bottle.

Fiscal responsibility!