Polling indicates that Virginians are about to be taken for a ride. Again. I keep waiting for Creigh Deeds to make it clear -there is no free lunch, the Legislature raises the revenues necessary to make ends meet. The legislature represents the will of the people and if Virginians want roads, schools, and public safety then they will demand that their legislature find a way to pay for it.
When Bob McDonnell promises to fund transportation, grow Universities, give teacher raises, etc. without raising taxes he wants you to ignore how he plans to pay for it. Bob will borrow the money to run Virginia from Wall Street bond traders. He will use the bonding authority already given the governor by a cowardly "no tax" legislature. And they will give even more! Guys like Delegates Matt Lohr, Todd Gilbert, and Steve Landes who don't have the courage to make the tough votes and provide sensible tax legislation to pay for Virginia's financial obligations.
So instead Bob McDonnell will borrow the money and Virginians will be obligated to pay with interest to distant loan sharks. There will be no vote, it will just happen, like an "act of god". Sound familiar? It should, this is exactly what Jim Gilmore did to Virginia when he was governor. He borrowed Virginia into a $6 billion dollar Wall Street bond debt, risking Virginia's bond rating as he struggled and failed to eliminate the "Car Tax". Ask a Supervisor, County Manager, or City Councilman how that worked out. It took a mutiny by his own Republican Party and the election of Mark Warner to stop the binge. And localities continue to beg Richmond for revenue.
Creigh Deeds knows that the governor doesn't raise or lower taxes, the legislature does. And after all those years in the legislature and the Attorney General's office Bob McDonnell knows it too. Virginia didn't become the nation's best managed state by borrowing money to fund public services. If the legislature does it's job and decides that tax legislation is preferable to borrowing money to pay for highways, then a prudent Governor should sign it. Creigh Deeds has said he would do so. Bob McDonnell wants to put it on the State credit card. He is betting that you aren't paying attention.
6 comments:
Bubby i know this is going to come as a shock to you,but Bob McDonnell will be the next governor of Va. Have you ever wondered how Creigh(whats in your wallet)Deeds came back to win the primary ?
The use of Bonds, employed prudently, can be a method of sound governance.
For example, investing in infrastructure projects that then stimulate positive growth of business and enhance the quality of life of a region, can create a revenue engine that handsomely pays for years into the future.
While election year politics always yields polarized rhetoric, I believe that the best bet for Mr. Deeds is to spend these final days hammering away with his positive attributes, such as:
Creigh Deeds has a track record, a mile long, standing-up for the working Man here in Virginia.
Creigh Deeds has demonstrated the skills to work with the opposition to craft new programs that move us forward.
Creigh Deeds is the right Man to rebuild our manufacturing base, stop outsourcing of jobs to China and move Virginia back on the road to prosperity.
Wall Street bond merchants expect to see a steady, sustainable revenue source to pay off the bonded obligation. If they don't see that fiscal prudence then they charge more for the money, or don't buy the bond. Jim Gilmore gambled that the money would come in through supply-side economics. When recession ended that possibility he was unwilling to raise the money through taxation, and had already cut any fat from his budget. Schools and Universities were losing teachers, State Police officers were being laid off. Bob McDonnell is taking the exact same path 10 years later and expecting a different result.
Never trust a "no tax" Republican with a credit card. He'll always take the credit and let the next guy pay the tab and clean up the mess.
Bubby do you have any idea how much Obama has increased the national debt ?
One of the most idiotic rightwing attacks on Mark Warner last year was the charge that he had "raised taxes". What wasn't mentioned was that reasonable Republican legislators joined with Warner and Assembly Democrats to raise revenue, return Virginia's good credit rating, and fix the damage caused by Jim Gilmore's flaky borrow'n'spend financial management.
Bubby let me inform you of something that everyone except you true party hacks have known for a while. Bob McDonnell,Bill Bolling and Ken Cuccinelli will all three win. I know this must be hard on you but it is a fact. It was hard on me last year but only a year later things have really CHANGED. Remember the Democrats were saying YES WE DID now i say YES YOU DID now reap the harvest. You can thank Obama and Kaine for this. As far as Warner goes alot of people crossed party lines to vote for him Creigh(whats in your wallet)Deeds cant even get all of the Democrats on board to vote for him.
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