Category: Poverty & income gap
-
Now Library Fines are a Social Injustice
by James A. Bacon The Richmond Public Library has joined 200 other public libraries across the country in eliminating the charging of fines for overdue books. Why? Because, in the words of City of Richmond press release, the fines, which make up less than 1% of the library’s total budget, “disproportionately affected low-income, African American…
-
The Ohio Energy Bill Subsidy Virginia Would Copy
by Steve Haner Both the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate have voted to increase the price of electricity to most Virginians in order to subsidize the bills of low-income utility customers. How much? They have no idea. But the program in Ohio being copied adds from $1 to $3.66 to the price of 1,000…
-
Minimum Wage and Medical Insurance
Question of the Day: If Virginia enacts a minimum wage increase, how many employers will respond by cutting fringe benefits like medical insurance? Kennon Morris, president of the Virginia Forest Products Association, raises the concern in a Free Lance-Star op-ed today. Here’s his prediction of what would happen in rural Virginia: The minimum wage “would…
-
More Mobile Homes, Please
by James A. Bacon The good news is that the poverty lobby has recognized that mobile home parks provide a valuable source of affordable housing in Virginia. The bad news is that… the poverty lobby wants to help. There are about 600 mobile home parks in Virginia. The average sales price for a single-width mobile…
-
Energy Omnibus III: Race, Poverty and Justice
By Steve Haner Unfortunately, there is nothing new about the Virginia General Assembly passing an energy development bill which overrides the authority of the State Corporation Commission or usurps its role in planning utility resources. Where Governor Ralph Northam’s new clean energy transition legislation breaks ground is its immersion into questions of race, poverty and…
-
Energy Omnibus: What it Does, How it Costs You
By Steve Haner The General Assembly adopted Governor Ralph Northam’s clean energy package Tuesday, with party-line votes in both the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate. Two House Democrats joined the Republicans in opposing the House version. House Bill 1526 and Senate Bill 851 appear identical but amendments were being adopted at the last minute.…
-
More Data on Why Students Don’t Complete College Degrees
by James A. Bacon The biggest reasons students take college courses but fail to complete a degree are work-related, according to a Strada Education Network survey of more than 42,00 adults nationally with some college but no degree. Seventeen percent cited “work-related” reasons for ceasing their studies. The second mostly commonly cited reason was financial…
-
A PIPP of an Idea: Electricity Transfer Payments
By Steve Haner Green energy advocates never tire of telling us that accomplishing their zero-carbon electricity supply will lower our costs. If so, why does their dream bill include a new income transfer entitlement program for low-income customers? It is called the Percentage of Income Payment Program with a handy acronym PIPP. It first appeared…
-
Plundering the Middle Class
by James A. Bacon To get a handle on how progressive (to be clear, I use “progressive” as a synonym for “leftist”) Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed two-year budget is, consider the following. If Northam’s agenda is adopted, Virginia’s middle class will pay higher gas taxes, higher cigarette taxes, higher income taxes, and higher electric rates.…
-
Another Tool in the Search for Affordable Housing
by Dick Hall-Sizemore This is going to be an interesting session; probably a nightmare for Republicans. Much of the public attention has been on gun legislation, but there are other areas in which Democratic initiatives have been bottled up in the past and now will have a much better chance of being enacted. One of…
-
Samirah Bill Inspires Debate Over Residential Zoning
by James A. Bacon Suburban Virginians were the key swing voters who gave Democrats majorities in both houses of the General Assembly. It will be interesting to see if Democrats now manage to alienate them. Del. Ibraheem Samirah, D-Herndon, has submitted a bill, HB 152, that would require zoning ordinances in localities across the state…
-
At Last: Zoning Restrictions on “Middle Housing” Are Coming Under Scrutiny
by James A. Bacon Arlington County plans to study the “missing middle” in its housing market: homes that fall between apartment-sized units and single-family dwellings — in its housing market. Ninety percent of the county’s residential land is zoned for detached, single-family houses. The median housing price in the county falls between $530,000 and $640,000,…
-
How to Fix Virginia Schools: Mo’ Money vs. the Bristol Model
by James A. Bacon In thinking about what ails Virginia’s K-12 public schools, perhaps we should give some consideration to the state’s schools of education and what Virginian teachers are taught. To get a sense of the quality of scholarship and thought that comes out of our teaching academies, we might consider an op-ed penned…
-
Another Brain-Dead Housing Initiative
by James A. Bacon Broadly speaking, there are two ways to create a supply of affordable housing in Virginia. One is to loosen zoning restrictions so developers and home builders can build more houses and apartments, thus relieving scarcity and putting a downward pressure on prices across the board. The other is for the government…
-
Northam Proposes Another $145 Million Giveaway
by James A, Bacon The spending avalanche keeps building. Governor Ralph Northam now is proposing to spend $145 million in the next two-year budget to make tuition-free community college available to “low- and middle-income” students who pursue jobs in high-demand fields. The Governor’s “Get Skilled, Get a Job, Give Back” (G3) program would cover tuition,…