VA Dems have it wrong again
Once again, the Dems in Richmond, including our "wonderful" governor, have it all wrong again regarding taxes and the wishes of the people. Now that the state is running a $1 billion surplus after ramrodding a $1.4 billion tax increase through the General Assembly last year, Republican legislators are now calling for the final phases of the car tax abolition to happen. However the Dems, who never met a tax they didn't love, are screaming that this is election year posturing and that it will lead the state to fiscal ruin. Instead, we need to keep the money to spend on Medicaid, road projects, and cleaning up the Chesapeake.
Foul, foul I call. In my opinion, its the Dems who are out of touch and are leading the state to financial ruin. The voters spoke eith years ago when they elected Gov. Gilmore (R) on the platform that he would get the loathed car tax repealed. He succeeded on doing this, and current Gov. Warner (D) campaigned on continuing this promise. However, he reneged on this when the state hit fiancial dificulty (read: spending more than it takes in, a common problem of government) and froze it at 70%. Since he can't stand for re-election, he doesn't care what the voters think of his plan. Because of this, a tax that is despised by all in Virginia is still in place three years after it was to be phased out completely and has now become an election year issue.
Instead of trying to balance the budget on the backs of the taxpayers and their cars (an extremely regressive way of raising funds), let's try doing things like cutting programs and re-examing priorities. Road construction is an necessity; cleaning the Chesapeake is not, especially since the bay is the cleanest its been in 50 years. Cutting taxes and ensuring the citizenry has more money in thier pockets is a priority; extending Medicaid to all who want it is not and is actually unsound fiscal policy.
Coming from Colorado, we had a safeguard against tax-loving politicians called TABOR. It works well; so well, in fact, that the current legislature is looking for ways to alter or repeal it so that they can keep more money from the citizens there and grow the government to obscene proportions, much against the will of the population. We need an amendment like that here in VA so that we the people can once again have a say in the taxation process in our state and reign in our tax-and-spend legislators in both parties.
So my advice to the folks inRichmond: repeal the car tax, re-examine your budget priorities and balance the budget through well-planned cuts and program elimination. That or find out what the people really think when you're all up for election this November.
Foul, foul I call. In my opinion, its the Dems who are out of touch and are leading the state to financial ruin. The voters spoke eith years ago when they elected Gov. Gilmore (R) on the platform that he would get the loathed car tax repealed. He succeeded on doing this, and current Gov. Warner (D) campaigned on continuing this promise. However, he reneged on this when the state hit fiancial dificulty (read: spending more than it takes in, a common problem of government) and froze it at 70%. Since he can't stand for re-election, he doesn't care what the voters think of his plan. Because of this, a tax that is despised by all in Virginia is still in place three years after it was to be phased out completely and has now become an election year issue.
Instead of trying to balance the budget on the backs of the taxpayers and their cars (an extremely regressive way of raising funds), let's try doing things like cutting programs and re-examing priorities. Road construction is an necessity; cleaning the Chesapeake is not, especially since the bay is the cleanest its been in 50 years. Cutting taxes and ensuring the citizenry has more money in thier pockets is a priority; extending Medicaid to all who want it is not and is actually unsound fiscal policy.
Coming from Colorado, we had a safeguard against tax-loving politicians called TABOR. It works well; so well, in fact, that the current legislature is looking for ways to alter or repeal it so that they can keep more money from the citizens there and grow the government to obscene proportions, much against the will of the population. We need an amendment like that here in VA so that we the people can once again have a say in the taxation process in our state and reign in our tax-and-spend legislators in both parties.
So my advice to the folks inRichmond: repeal the car tax, re-examine your budget priorities and balance the budget through well-planned cuts and program elimination. That or find out what the people really think when you're all up for election this November.
<< Home