“In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes,” so said the sage of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin. It would be interesting to hear Ben chat with Grover Norquist. How to run a government which benefits all without taxation defies imagination. I suppose a governmental fairy could take care of us all by printing money ad infinitum. That system hasn’t worked well in history; hyperinflation is the name by which it goes.
Rather than blather on and blame the government the public must accept some responsibility. We want everything but we aren’t willing to meet the price when it comes to taxes. Politicians, if they understand nothing else, realize that proposals to increase taxes are the death knell for a career. We have a choice: Don’t raise revenue by taxing and let the infrastructure, the schools, the transportation system, health care, the food supply, and everything else we value fall into ruin. Or we can be realistic and accept the fact that we must find more money somewhere. It is not possible to cut spending enough to make up the shortfall in revenue. The only option is changing the tax status.
The General Assembly is in its 46 day session to solve the myriad of problems and in a very short time. All will be up for election this fall and we may rest assured that if the good of the Commonwealth butts up against holding on to their seat, there can be little doubt about how the votes will be cast.
Virginia is the only state that does not allow the Governor to succeed oneself. The argument can be made the chief executive doesn’t have to pander to public opinion but can do what is best for the state. Of course, if the incumbent in moments of grandeur plans to run for President, then little will be done that endangers that small possibility.
This past week we have been treated to yet another of the Governor’s shell games. Money has been moved from one program to another all during his administration, but I must admit this latest ploy is amongst the more clumsy, if transparent, moves.
Ride down any major highway, cross any interstate bridge, try to negotiate rush hour traffic in any of our major cities and one can easily see the Department of Transportation is in dire need of funds. Here’s the Governor’s proposed fix: Abolish the 17.5 cent/gallon gasoline tax, penalize those with fuel efficient cars with a $100 yearly charge, raise the registration fee (that might be sensible), and increase the general sales tax from 5% to 5.8%.
Economists spend their careers dealing with the nuances of taxation. Most of us have little understanding of the intricacies; we just don’t want to pay more. What the Governor is proposing is another shell game: Take money from one source by a tax reduction and raise taxes in another. The gasoline tax is a user tax. Not everyone has a car, not everyone uses the roads but for those who do we pay a fee, the gasoline tax. To abolish that and replace it with a regressive tax (an increase in sales tax), one that effects everyone is not only not fair, but will not raise a significant amount of money to meet the needs of the VDOT.
The gas taxes have not been raised since 1987. Virginia and our region in particular, enjoy gas prices that are among the lowest in the country. Please explain to me why it is a bad idea increase gas tax used for use in new construction (for which there is NO money in the current plan) as well as vital maintenance.
Shell games don’t work at a carnival and they don’t work in governmental budgets. The choice is clear: Find new revenue or watch things continue to fall apart. That’s the part of which we can be certain. We are all going to have to bite the bullet and this is a good time to let our General Assembly we are up to the challenge. We better hope they are, too, our soon-to-be erstwhile Governor notwithstanding. A little courage on the part of our legislators would be refreshing.