Many of you have been hoping for a more positive contribution to the election discussion in the House of Delegates race in the 28th District. Despite having Howell as a political mentor and thanking him publicly for helping her start in politics, Susan Stimpson has been running a fairly negative campaign, hammering Speaker Howell for his stance on taxes, despite the prevailing issues concerning voters such as Medicaid expansion, health care, federal cuts, etc. With gas prices hovering in the $2.25 range around the state and transportation projects booming, it’s been a slight disconnect from the needs of voters.
However, today on Tax Day, I received a rare positive reminder from Stimpson on how well Virginia and the General Assembly, lead by the Republican-controlled House and House Speaker Howell, has been financially managed.
…from 2010-2013, when Virginia posted budget surpluses of $403 mil., $545 mil., $448 mil., and $879 mil., respectively
Four consecutive years of budgetary surpluses? Wow, that’s pretty incredible financial management! Now, where does that money go?
Most of the surplus is already dedicated, with deposits to the water quality improvement fund, the state’s rainy day fund, the transportation trust fund, mandatory reappropriations and a cushion account designed to blunt the impact of federal cuts.
Makes a lot of sense, particularly given the precarious financial position that the federal government finds itself. And, given the proximity to Washington, the 28th District is uniquely impacted by any financial mismanagement at the federal level. With sequestration still hammering away at defense spending and a lame-duck president squaring off against a Congress controlled by Republicans, putting away money into the rainy-day fund and preparing for further federal cuts is smart financial management.
It also servers as a reminder that Virginia is consistently regarded as one of the best managed states in the country, if not the best. Virginia has had a AAA bond rating for more than 75 years, longest in the country, it weathered the Great Recession through smart governance, targeted spending cuts and job growth and promotion that saw Virginia as one of the lowest unemployment rates for the past five years. In 2012, the debt per capita for state and local government was 28th in the country, and a reminder, Virginia was recognized by Pew as the best managed state in 2005 and again in 2008. Virginia has been in the top-10 in median income, unemployment, percentage below the poverty line, violent crime rate, and has seen double digit increases in tourism in the past few years.
So a reminder, on Tax Day, while many other states have burdensome tax regulations, poorly functioning legislatures, high taxes and more, Virginia remains the 21st lowest out of the 50 states, per the Tax Foundation.
And of course, Stimpson wasn’t complementing Howell. Here’s the full quote:
Despite strong revenue collections, our leadership still isn’t taking charge and delivering tax relief, just as they didn’t from 2010-2013, when Virginia posted budget surpluses of $403 mil., $545 mil., $448 mil., and $879 mil., respectively.
It’s time that Virginia’s large, consistent surpluses be returned to the wallets of the taxpayers from which they were taken.
Sigh. Six more weeks before Primary Day.
The post On Tax Day, Stimpson Applauds Howell’s Financial Management… Kind Of appeared first on Bearing Drift.
