Maryland's own reality show commenced on Jan. 13 with the convening of the 427th Session of the General Assembly. The priorities of this year's session should be balancing the budget, stopping sexual predators of children, preventing gang violence, promoting economic activity and job growth, and blocking any attempts to increase taxes.

Budget: Maryland's seemingly perpetual budget crisis continues. The books are out of balance by nearly $2 billion, or about $1,000 per Maryland household.

But as compared to past fiscal crises, there are important differences. One is that all the gimmicks and savings accounts have...