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Congratulations
are due to Governor-elect Tim Kaine. He ran
a long and hard race, but now that the campaigning
is over the hard work begins. It’s time to
deliver on his campaign promises and make his mark
over the next four years. Hopefully, he’ll leave
the Commonwealth in a better place.
Economy.
The Commonwealth has proven its resiliency,
charging forward with rapid economic expansion.
Gov.-elect Kaine will enter office with a robust
and strong economy behind him. Hippocrates, the
author of the Hippocratic Oath advises to
“first, do no harm.”
Government
spending. Editorial pages throughout the state
have long chronicled the significant growth in
state government in the last decade. The strong
economy has led to overflowing state coffers—tax
collections from all sources in September
increased by 11.2 percent over the same month a
year ago. And, for the first quarter of this
fiscal year, which began July 1, state revenues
are up by 14.5 percent over the same period in
2004.
Spending
is out of control. On an annualized basis, the
Commonwealth’s budget has more than
doubled—it’s expected that Gov. Warner will
have an additional $3 or $4 billion to play with
as he prepares his final budget. The challenge to
Gov.-elect Kaine is simple—reverse this trend
and break the cycle of unsustainable budget
growth. Failure to do so could spell disaster for
the Commonwealth in years to come. Any unforeseen
bump in the economy could leave us teetering on
the edge of financial disaster.
Transportation.
We need to get people moving again. It is time to
admit that we don’t have the resources we need
to build, repair, and upgrade our roads—but more
importantly that we can’t simply add taxes to
get us there. The time is now for toll roads to
take on a great role in Virginia. They’re not
new but they hold tremendous promise to fix our
infrastructure needs and get people moving—so
they can continue to be the economic engine to
drive the Commonwealth forward.
On
Wednesday November 16th, the International Bridge,
Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) will be
commending the Virginia Department of
Transportation officials for its willingness to
consider and study tolling alternatives to relieve
congestion on the capitol beltway. This is an
important first step, but one that should be
aggressively pursued by the next administration.
In
addition, the Commonwealth should consider
divesting or leasing existing toll roads to bring
private capital and expertise to management and
operations. Indeed, five different bids have been
submitted to operate the Dulles Toll Road—any of
these initiatives would net at least $1 billion to
the Commonwealth. The administration should
actively pursue this initiative and others
including operation of the Pocahontas Parkway and
possibly even the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.
Unfortunately,
during the campaign, a centerpiece of Kaine's
transportation plan was curbing “out of control
growth and irresponsible development.” This
rhetoric is dangerous. It would be terribly
damaging to our economy to choke off development
because of its potential impact on transportation.
Given the amount of time it takes for
infrastructure to catch up, we’d never get
anything built.
And
in terms of the housing market, this would be like
throwing gasoline on a fire. Home prices in
Northern Virginia have been growing at nearly
double-digit rates over the last few years. The
median sales price in the metro area currently
stands at $380,000, with only a third of area
homes affordable to families making the median
income of $86,000. Artificially restricting the
housing supply would only drive prices higher,
preventing many Virginians from realizing their
dreams of home ownership.
While
there are many challenges facing the new Kaine
administration, keeping the economy strong,
controlling government spending, and getting
people moving again should be at the top of
everyone’s list. Courage, and common sense
will prove valuable and lead the Commonwealth to
even more prosperity.
--
November 28, 2005
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