Bacon's Rebellion

  • Laboring in Virginia

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    An instructive session at the State Capital

    by Gordon C. Morse

    Tuesday’s Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee meeting deserves watching. You can pull these things up on-line and watch them at your leisure. It offered some clarity on the divisions in this state.

    The particulars of the debate — the cost of retail electricity — are less important than the regional dynamics. A Republican representative of Southwest Virginia sought to relieve economic pressure on his constitutents and the ruling, majority Democrats did not give a hoot.

    There’s calculation here by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell: He’s cutting rural Virginia loose. He would never say so in specific terms and may make occasional gestures in its direction, but that’s Trumpland down there and in fundamental disagreement with what his caucus believes and desires.

    It’s jarring to watch. There were once many, many Democrats representing the rural reaches of Virginia. The influence of Northern Virginia, despite a stumble here and there, continues to grow and Surovell knows it. Why worry about the unattainable and, in his eyes, the unattractive?

    (more…)

  • Bacon Meme of the Week

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    James A. Bacon

  • Did Levar Stoney Crack the Anti-Poverty Lock?

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    Cracking the anti-poverty lock. Image by ChatGPT

    by James A. Bacon

    I’ve made no secret of my disdain for former Levar Stoney’s track record as mayor of Richmond between 2017 and 2025. His only tangible accomplishment, I’ve said, was tearing down Confederate statues. But perhaps I was too harsh. If we’re to believe Governing magazine, a national trade publication that covers state and local policies, Stoney should share the credit for cutting the city’s poverty rate almost in half: from 27% in 2014 to 17.1% in the most recent American Community Survey.

    That’s a major accomplishment, if warranted.

    I’m a bit skeptical of the case laid out by Governing’s former executive editor Christopher Swope. The policy mix detailed in the article seem too pedestrian — job and financial-literacy training, after-school programs, free transit programs, new recreation facilities — to account for the change. But Swope cites a forthcoming paper by University of Richmond professor Thad Williamson, which finds that local policies and programs made a “meaningful contribution” to the reduction in poverty. So, who knows, maybe there’s something to the claim.

    In the meantime, you can be sure that Stoney will use Swope’s column to burnish his credentials as an anti-poverty champion during his campaign to win the Democratic Party nomination for lieutenant governor. Given the scandalous maladministration of city government, culminating with the week-long interruption of water service barely a week after his term ended, he’ll need something to run on.

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  • Surprising No One, Study Finds Skill Games Target Poor

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    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    One of Pace-O-Matic’s Skill Games

    A Virginia economist has turned up hard data showing which neighborhoods contained the highest concentration of the gaming devices called “skill games” by some and “neighborhood slot machines” by others, when last they were legal. The result will not surprise you.

    Fletcher Mangum of Mangum Economics in Henrico County was hired by a lobbying group called Virginians Against Neighborhood Slot Machines, which released his report Thursday as part of their effort to stop bills to authorize the gaming devices. This news release accompanied the report.

    Being an economist, he also reported that the money lost on those machines would have produced major economic benefits if spent on useful things.

    Probably true. But that assumes the money is not simply plowed into some other form of legalized gambling in this state, which includes the Virginia Lottery, sports betting, casinos, charity bingo and betting on horses at tracks and in parimutuel betting parlors.   

    Mangum also cites national statistics that show the convenience store sector is booming around the U.S. and the industry might not be on life support without this extra revenue. They are the most likely venue for these machines, along with truck stops and watering holes.

    A bill to allow the machines again passed the 2024 General Assembly but was vetoed by Governor Glenn Youngkin (R). The advocacy coalition formed then and includes the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, Family Foundation, a liberal group Freedom Virginia, and a bunch of competing gambling interests. In other words, the classic strange bedfellows of legislative life.

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  • Keeping Seats Open for Next Governor to Fill

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    Steve Haner

    By Chris Braunlich

    The Democratic State Senate last week rejected nine of Governor Youngkin’s appointments to key governing Boards in the state.

    Although Senator Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) used high minded language to defend the action, it is much more likely that the rationale was baser — simply keeping important policy-making board seats open for what they believe will be an incoming Democratic Governor.

    It certainly couldn’t have been a problem with the appointees.  Even the progressive blog Blue Virginia, which has never approved of anything this Governor has done, seems confused about why some were rejected.

    After all, the rejected appointees included a) a Black businessman, b) a Jewish scholar, c) immigrants, d.) accomplished women, and e.) an opponent of Donald Trump on January 6th.  Were we to utilize the language of Progressives, we must necessarily conclude that the action of the Senate was a) racist, b) antisemitic, c) xenophobic, d) misogynistic, and e) part of a conspiracy of Trumpist retaliation.

    But while it is tempting to give the Left a taste of its own attack mode language, we know it’s not the reason for the nominees’ rejection.

    Nor is it the argument Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell seems to have made on the Senate floor: “Donald Trump Made Me Do It!” 

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  • UVA Shooter Report Delayed… Again

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    James A. Bacon

    Kicking the can down the road. Bing Image Creator

    We knew the $1.5 million, taxpayer-funded Attorney General report on the circumstances surrounding the Nov. 13, 2022, triple murder at UVA would be delayed past the promised release date next month — we just didn’t know the excuse for doing it.

    Now we do.

    UVA President Jim Ryan vowed to release the report, which he withheld on the grounds that the contents might be prejudicial to the case, after the sentencing of the shooter, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. The sentencing was scheduled for February 4. Now the proceeding has been delayed nine-and-a-half months to November 17, reports The Daily Progress.

    An attorney for the families of the murder victims said that Albemarle County Commonwealth Attorney Jim Hingely sought the delay after the defense submitted a lengthy mitigation report. “Something this important, you’ve got to have your experts review it,” said the attorney, Michael Haggard. “It’s unfortunate.”

    Review it for nine-and-a-half months? Wow.

    (more…)

  • Another Hidden Income Redistribution Scheme

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    James A. Bacon

    Source: “Tracking Virginia’s 2023 Health Care Spending & Employment Trends”

    by James A. Bacon

    Virginia’s healthcare system, like that of the U.S. as a whole, functions as a massive income redistribution scheme from private insurance customers to Medicare and Medicaid patients.

    That’s the conclusion I draw from data from a new report, “Tracking Virginia’s 2023 Health Care Spending & Employment Trends,” prepared for the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) by OnPoint Health Data.

    That’s not what the VHHA chooses to emphasize. In its press release accompanying the report, VHHA touts the finding that private health insurance premiums increased at a dramatically faster rate (22.1% for family policies) than personal health care (PHC) spending (1.2%) between 2019 to 2023.

    VHHA also notes that Virginians spent 12.2% less on hospitalization compared to the national average in 2023. If that’s so, it’s a fair point for the VHHA to bring to the public’s attention. We should seek to understand the reason why in the hope that, whatever we’re doing right, maybe we can do more of it. It’s also fair for the hospital trade association to shift blame for rising insurance premiums to the insurance industry. If hospitals have been holding down their charges, they deserve credit for it.

    But there’s more to the story. If hospital, prescription and nursing-home spending is stable, why are private insurance rates spiking?

    (more…)

  • Don’t Let Virginia Fall Behind in the AI Race

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    A House bill aiming to prevent “algorithmic discrimination” would cripple Virginia’s ability to compete in the rapidly evolving Artificial Intelligence sector by creating excessive compliance burdens, legal ambiguities and astronomical costs, warned Caleb Taylor, director of police at the Virginia Institute of Public Policy in an email distributed yesterday.

    HB2094, sponsored by Delegate Michelle Maldanado, D-Manassas, is a “well-intentioned but deeply flawed piece of legislation,” Taylor wrote. Small businesses could see compliance costs between $10,000 and $500,000 annually. Large corporations may face costs exceeding $10 million, he claimed.

    “Whilst states like Indiana, Tennessee, and Minnesota are actively courting AI investments with business-friendly policies, Virginia must not throttle our own businesses in a vital, growing sector,” said Taylor.

    (more…)

  • White House Attacks Harrisonburg Schools

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    James A. Bacon

    by Joe Fitzgerald

    The post-truth nature of the Trump White House came home to Harrisonburg today.

    One of Trump’s hundreds of executive orders demands that schools stop teaching critical race theory and quit indoctrinating students. The text is on the White House news site, for those who want to read the entire text. The jargon and faux-legalistic writing can’t hide its incoherence.

    The local part is in a fact sheet distributed with the executive order, but not yet posted on the White House news site. The fact sheet says:

    Harrisonburg City Public Schools in Virginia implemented a policy forcing teachers to “always use a student’s preferred names and pronouns” while using different ones with their parents.

    The policy never existed.

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  • Only Glenn Youngkin’s Veto Pen Stands Between Virginians & Democrat Extremists

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    by

    James A. Bacon

    by Victoria Manning

    The power of the veto pen

    (Note: This column was published originally on Kerry: Unemployed & Unedited.)

    Even though Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly know their extremist bills don’t have a shot at escaping Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto pen, they insist on introducing the most far-left bills imaginable in the 2025 legislative session.

    Virginia Democrats are quickly killing commonsense Republican bills that would protect children, abolish taxes on tips, protect women’s sports, and expand freedom for Virginia families. That includes voting against a bill requiring physicians care for a baby born alive during a botched abortion.

    Democrats killed two Senate bills that would require public school sports participation to be determined based on biological sex, not gender identity. Despite overwhelming support for this type of law nationally, Virginia Democrats refuse to solidify protections under Title IX. Women have overcome obstacles to be able to compete in high level athletics, but Democrats want those gains erased by (transgender) men.

    A part of their assault on Second Amendment rights, Democrats have also moved legislation forward that would place liability for crimes committed with a firearm onto gun manufacturers or dealers—the equivalent of suing vehicle manufacturers for deaths caused by car accidents. Continue reading.

  • $633 Tax Hike Results if Senate Dems Balk on Standard Deduction

    Posted on

    by

    Steve Haner

    By Steve Haner

    In the past few years, under governors of both parties, Virginia has expanded its standard deduction for income taxpayers from $6,000 for a couple in 2018 to $17,000 today saving those taxpayers $633 per year. When they produce their budget bill on Sunday, the Democrats who hold the majority in the Virginia Senate may try to claw back that $633. This would be a major tax hike on millions of Virginians. 

    The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee on Tuesday deferred action on three Republican bills that would have made that $17,000 standard deduction permanent. It is scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, and all it takes for the General Assembly to capture about $1 billion in new revenue is to do nothing.  

    Nothing is what the Senate Democrats did when those Republican-sponsored bills were considered. They were “passed by for the day.” To pass them now “significantly hamstrings our ability to construct a budget,” said Senator Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville. “We need to look at our entire tax structure,” added Senator Mamie Locke, D-Hampton. “Those who earn more should pay more,” she added. 

    Thus, a target was clearly placed on the standard deduction, which could retreat from $17,000 this year to only $6,000 next year for that taxpaying couple if no extension is approved. Another $11,000 of income would be hit with tax and that would cost the taxpayers $632.50, enough to reduce take home pay on paychecks. An undetermined number of low-income people who now pay no tax would start to do so again.  

    Over in the House of Delegates, the exact opposite move is underway. A bill sponsored by a senior Democrat would not only maintain that higher standard deduction, but would increase it another $1,500 per couple to $18,500, saving another $86. The House bill has passed one committee unanimously but will also get tangled up in the House’s version of the state budget released Sunday.  

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  • First the James River, Now Federal Grants

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    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    by Dick Hall-Sizemore

    Photo credit: Reddit

    Last week, the James River froze over and folks were walking across the river on the ice. This week, Virginians were confronted with another freeze. The Trump administration ordered federal agencies on Monday to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance….” The purpose of the “temporary pause” was to “give the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.”

    The memo specifically exempted Social Security and Medicare funds. It also generally exempted “assistance received directly by individuals.”

    The memo resulted in widespread consternation and confusion over what was covered. Predictably, a group of nonprofit organizations filed suit in federal court to block the order. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against implementation of the order and scheduled a hearing on February 3. Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a second directive declaring that it sought only to bring spending in line with the president’s recent executive orders, including those that clamp down on foreign aid and funding for diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.

    On Wednesday, OMB rescinded the specific memorandum ordering the temporary freeze, OMB memorandum M-25-13. However, the administration made it clear that the freeze was still in effect. On X, Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary said, “This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze. It is simply a rescission of the OMB memo. Why? To end any confusion created by the court’s injunction. The President’s EO’s on federal funding remain in full force and effect, and will be rigorously implemented.” In court, the Washington Post reports she said, “The only thing that has changed since we’ve filed our papers is whether or not there’s a paper called OMB 25-13.”

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  • Who Deserves Credit for Improving Economy?

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    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Image credit: ChatGPT

    The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data highlight significant gains in employment and labor-force growth in the Commonwealth, said the Governor’s Office in a press release this morning. The data, said the statement, underscores Virginia’s “resilient and dynamic labor market.”

    Unemployment dipped slightly to 3.0%, 1.1 percentage points below the national rate of 4.1%. The labor-force participation rate of 66.0% remained significantly higher than the 62.5% national participation rate.

    “Virginia’s labor market continues to demonstrate resilience and growth, with a strong increase in nonfarm payrolls, a growing labor force, and low unemployment,” said a statement attributed to Governor Glenn Youngkin. “Our commitment to business-friendly policies, reducing costs, and fostering innovation has created an environment where both Virginia companies and Virginians can thrive.” 

    Look, this is modestly good news, and I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade. I think Youngkin’s pro-business policies are beneficial. I would love to credit them for the positive economic results. And if I had to wager, I would bet that the numbers would support the proposition that Youngkin has been a better steward of the economy than his predecessor Ralph Northam.

    But these numbers by themselves don’t prove anything.

    (more…)

  • Senate Dems Administer Severe Butt-Kicking

    Posted on

    by

    James A. Bacon

    by James A. Bacon

    Yesterday the Virginia Senate passed the “Right to Contraception Act,” guaranteeing Virginians “the right to obtain contraceptives and to engage in contraception,” in a party-line vote with Republicans in opposition. In the run-up to passage of the bill, Senate Democrats engineered a vote that put Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, the likely Republican candidate for governor, on record against it.

    Democrats were quick to exploit the vote.

    “Virginians deserve a governor who will defend their reproductive freedoms – not pretend that threats to their rights aren’t real. When this legislation comes across my desk as governor, I will sign the right to contraception into law,” said Abigail Spanberger, the favored Democratic nominee, in a statement issued on Tuesday, as reported by the Augusta Free-Press.

    “As a proud mom of three girls, I find it unacceptable that some politicians believe they’re entitled to a say in families’ personal medical decisions,” she added. “I believe in Virginians’ fundamental right to privacy, and I believe we must make sure that right is protected for future generations.”

    Republicans were caught flat-footed.

    (more…)

  • Is There a Doctor in the House?

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    sherlockj

    Is There a Doctor in the House?

    by James C. Sherlock

    Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center (Colonial Heights) is in the news again. New story, similar outcomes — a patient either dying or dreadfully injured — both ignored. The first time 18 staff members were arrested.

    This time it was a physician who allegedly wasn’t even there. That was the problem.

    In a brief summary of a riveting report from WRIC Richmond:

    • Dr. Gohar Abbasi of Chesterfield is facing charges after a schizophrenic man with serious injuries was able to leave Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center with a catheter and a colostomy bag still in place.
    • The victim is 33-year-old Timothy Holton of Colonial Heights. Court records indicate is homeless. But he wandered daily in the community. He was well known, reportedly gentle and liked there.

    Dr. Abbasi was arrested and charged with abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult with a bodily injury or disease.  

    He was released on bond “without objection to travel to Islamabad, Pakistan from Jan. 23 to Feb. 14 to visit his elderly parents and attend his niece’s wedding.” Family man.

    A chronological summary as reported with quotes in italics:

    Mid-November 2024. Mr. Holton was in a car accident that left him severely injured.

    Court records indicate (he) had displaced pubic rami fractures, a left sacral fracture, a large amount of blood in his pelvis, a nondisplaced T5-T6 spinous process fracture and many other serious injuries.

    According to court documents, Holton was treated at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center before he was transferred to the Hanover Health and Rehabilitation Center.

    Holton was transferred once again to Colonial Heights Rehabilitation and Nursing Center for long-term care.

    (more…)

Now Available

Book cover of 'Dust Mites: A Second American Revolution' by James A. Bacon, featuring astronauts planting a flag with a blue and white emblem on a lunar landscape, with Earth visible in the background.
For sale on Amazon.com

The year: 2075. The American colonies on the Moon are getting restless under Washington’s tyrannical rule….

This second edition of “Dust Mites” has a snazzy new cover, includes helpful lunar maps, and is 5,000 words tighter than the original. The sequel, “Trogs,” is scheduled for publication this summer.

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Bacon’s Rebellion is Virginia’s leading politically non-aligned portal for news, opinions and analysis about state, regional and local public policy. Read more about us here.

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