BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Hide your children. Bury the family silver.

The Maryland General Assembly is back in session.

OK, that is a bit harsh. I’ve worked with several of the legislators over the years, and there are some fantastic people representing Maryland. Individually, they do their best to make Maryland great.

But collectively, they screw that up as often as possible. It’s like that comment in the original “Men in Black” movie: “A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals, and you know it.”

That pretty well describes the Maryland General Assembly, and the 423rd session begins tomorrow. While you don’t have to hide your children or the family silver, holding on to your wallet might be a good idea.

Remember, this is the same legislature that’s been unable or unwilling to address our need for slots for a couple years. And last year, they decided to target one of Maryland’s biggest employers — Wal-Mart — and try to make them pay more for employee health care. The General Assembly isn’t exactly business-friendly.

This year the pressure is on about taxes to stave off budget problems. The Washington Post has already chimed in, trying to pressure the new governor that tax increases must occur. A recent editorial explained, “Mr. O’Malley, who takes office next month, has not ruled out new taxes, which will inevitably be part of any solution to a fiscal problem on the scale of Maryland’s.”

“Inevitably.” That’s an easy opinion about a legislature that never met a spending program or a tax it didn’t like. According to the Post, we face deficits of $400 million in 2007 and up to $1.6 billion starting next year.

Instead of dealing with the reason we have that potential deficit — legislators spending like drunken sailors — the Post wants Maryland to destroy economic growth and pile on the taxes. All because our legislators don’t know how not to spend.

And O’Malley might be saying some of the right things, but adding T. Eloise Foster as budget secretary isn’t one of them. Foster held that same job for former Democratic Gov. Parris Spend-ening. Gov. Bob Ehrlich took four years fixing the mess that Glendening left.

It appears O’Malley could easily go that spending route. The Post ran a recent list of O’Malley’s promises, and it included 33 separate commitments for increased spending. It didn’t appear he was giving away the kitchen sink, but the list wasn’t that detailed. It was probably in the fine print.

None of this is new to fans of Maryland politics. Maryland does have some structural budgetary problems. That means we have tried to spend more money than we have. Ordinary taxpayers know that ordinary people would stop throwing their money away on things they don’t need. Legislators have an unlimited supply of cash — yours.

How much more will the General Assembly take from us this time?

Dan Gainor is The Boone Pickens Free Market Fellow at the Media Research Center’s Business & Media Institute, a career journalist and media commentator. He can be reached at gainorcolumn@gmail.com .