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A
fool and his money are soon parted.” So
sayeth some Republican legislators and,
apparently, a few candidates for statewide
office in Virginia.
The only differences between selling magic
beans to the peasant who fell off the turnip
wagon coming into town and selling tax
increases to Virginia’s voting peasants are
the choice of words and the amount to be
taken. The sales pitches are the same. It’s
a great game to grift as long as you can get
away with it.
Only
six of seventeen tax-and-spend Republicans in
the House of Delegates are being challenged by
tax conservatives. The apostate Republicans
served the largest tax increase in Virginia
history (over $1.5b) to the better class of
constituents who make their living from
government spending. Follow the money from
increased spending and quickly spent surplus
to their government clients to the huge
political funds for RINOs.
The
top Republicans support all incumbents. So,
the Republicans can spend the surplus and
raise new taxes like Democrats – and stay in
power. It may prove a point: If you take
enough money from taxpayers and spread it
around, you and your supporters get re-elected
and rich. The poor and the principled just
suffer in silence until a leader shows up.
Isn’t
that why neither Republican Jerry Kilgore or
Democrat Tim Kaine are calling for a rollback
of the sales tax increase? That tax brought in
about a billion last year and will grow and
grow. It’s regressive; meaning it’s more
painful for the poor. Poor people don’t give
much in campaign contributions. The statewide
candidates are fussing about personal and home
property taxes that rise with rapid growth in
their value. Wrong statewide issues.
Republicans
need to convince Jerry Kilgore to modify his
tax proposals. The Democrats and the media
will scream flip-flop, but the voters, those
sullen peasants, won’t pay attention until
September and, really, October. The candidate
who runs as the most genuine, trustworthy,
fiscal conservative will win. That’s exactly
why Kaine is running like Gov. Warner did –
a faux conservative. That’s why Kilgore
should run as a Republican on taxes and
Bolling and McDonnell ought to be shoo-ins in
the June 14th Primary.
Fulfill
the promise of the “‘No Car Tax.”
Virginians spoke at the polls in ’97 and
they meant it. Take some per cent of the
Virginia
income tax and return it directly to the
cities and counties. Then, eliminate the tax
from the Virginia Code – completely.
Don’t
mess with property taxes from Richmond.
A Republican plan to bribe the voters will
always come out second to a Democrat plan. Any
Commonwealth interference makes the government
distortions of the marketplace more
dysfunctional. Who doesn’t get this now?
Quaint houses in
Amsterdam
have narrow fronts outside and high steps
inside – to avoid what was taxed five
hundred years ago. If the property tax
increases are unreasonable, the elected
officials in cities and counties are directly
responsible, and the most responsive
government. Trust The People to fix local
problems locally.
Don’t
foist an un-elected regional taxing authority
for Transportation on Virginians again - even
with the fig leaf that new taxes face
referendums. Virginians decisively defeated
the idea at the polls twice (in ’98 and
’02). Old Patrick Henry wrote in the
Virginia Resolves that the General Assembly
has the “only and sole exclusive right and
power to lay taxes and impositions on the
inhabitants” of
Virginia.
The Resolves concluded anything else was an
attack on freedom and traitorous to
Virginia.
It’s still true.
Do
not
create another taxing level of government. It
hands over power to un-elected bureaucrats and
the self-serving special interests who pushed
the Transportation Tax Scam (’02) and pumped
out $2.2 million on The Peninsula alone. The
“regional” geniuses had the wrong plan,
the wrong tax and administration promising
corruption. Today, the same powers give
thousands of dollars to Connaughton, Baril and
the Democrats – whoever will serve them.
Republicans can beat their money with votes,
when they run on conservative principles.
Virginia’s
financial “crisis” was wrought by
uncontrolled Medicaid spending busting a
slower, but growing, budget. Why don’t
Republican candidates talk about how they
would mitigate Medicaid costs in Virginia
and get federal officials to fix it?
Instead
of passing the buck on Transportation and
pandering on Property Taxes, why don’t the
candidates tell Virginians how to get illegal
aliens out of the Commonwealth and keep them
out?
Are
politicians taxing the fools or are they the
taxing fools? Or both? Virginians will figure
it out eventually.
--
May 23, 2005
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