Beware those who make snap judgments about anything as complex and detailed as the budget framework released on Thursday by Gov. Wes Moore and Maryland General Assembly leaders. Politicians who immediately declared it either a perfect balancing act or, at the other end of the spectrum, a bloated abomination, are likely merely spouting party talking points.

In the real world, state lawmakers faced the arduous task of repairing a sizeable deficit — a $3.3 billion and growing hole thanks in no small part to recent federal job losses on top of other factors (and more about them in a moment) — and that meant either raising taxes, cutting spending or doing some combination of both. As expected, they are leaning into that third option with about two-thirds coming from cuts and one-third from taxes. But even that doesn’t tell the full story. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

Let’s also be clear: As legislators continue to debate and perhaps amend the budget in the days ahead, none of it is likely to prove a pleasant experience. Those who are angry over the prospect of a 3% sales tax on data and IT services — arguably the single most controversial measure in the framework — might take a moment to ponder how Democrats had contemplated a more onerous sales tax on business-to-business services. Gov. Moore wisely put up a stop sign on that plan and Marylanders seem to have been spared.

But there are any number of smaller taxes and fees that are likely to trigger voter ire including applying the state’s 6% sales tax to vending machine sales, creating a tax on short-term rentals, implementing the long-debated combined tax reporting on corporations and raising slightly the income tax rate for top earners (including the local piggyback). And the list, sadly, goes on a bit from there.

And yet it could have been worse. Before the 90-day session had even started, Democrats pledged to preserve the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future with its promised increases in K-12 spending and with it, better student outcomes. That appears to have survived.

And while it’s fair to point out that Maryland’s budget woes are in no small measure a product of the legislature’s willingness to approve the multibillion dollar Blueprint in 2021 without corresponding funding, that does not diminish the importance of upgrading schools — with more early childhood education, higher teacher salaries to attract the best and brightest, more wraparound services for students with greater needs and on.

With that said, we hope this year’s budget can be a cautionary tale for future lawmakers before they approve exorbitant, long-term financial obligations like the Blueprint. Policymakers need to make sure they aren’t writing checks that taxpayers simply can’t cash. Otherwise, we’ll find ourselves in this same situation every few years — pinching pennies and creating new financial burdens for consumers and business owners.

There is still work to be done in the State House, of course. At least we hope there are some changes made to a framework that is surely not set in stone. For example, we’re not wild about the proposed 2% higher capital gains tax for the practical reason that capital gains can be up one year and down the next. That’s not a reliable funding source. Or how about that .1% higher piggyback (the local income tax rate that could peak at 3.3% instead of 3.2%)? That’s great for wealthy counties but offers far less to those with higher poverty rates.

And on that topic, why not raise the state income tax instead and then funnel the proceeds to local governments based on their needs? Here’s a theory: Because lawmakers were loathe to adopt across-the-board tax increases that come back to haunt them in election years. (Talk to former Gov. Martin O’Malley and his 6% sales tax about that). Indeed, the framework offers some modest tax relief to less affluent earners but let’s underscore “modest.”

One last word. This isn’t the final say on state taxes and spending. Our system just doesn’t work like that. Even now, what’s happening in Washington with DOGE and downsizing can have a dramatic impact on state and local government budget — not to mention the prospects of an economic recession or sharply higher inflation. If this year seems like a bit of a budgetary rollercoaster ride, better get used to it. No matter what happens between now and the end of session on April 7 (or the March 31 deadline to pass a budget), there are likely to be further bumps (and bruises) ahead.