McDonnell passes the buck on Virginia's bills

May 4, 2012

The Virginian-Pilot editorializes, "The practice of siphoning money from municipal coffers to support state responsibilities has provided Virginia's government with a solid stream of revenue to weather tough financial times... Opponents note, correctly, that state lawmakers are simply trying to change their own rules to get more money without dirtying their hands with calls for a tax increase or cuts to services."

Progressive Point: For Virginia families, fiscal responsibility means making the money to pay your bills. But Governor Bob McDonnell's refusal to raise revenue to pay for the basic functions of government has left him raiding coffers in our local communities. Our cities and counties work hard for us: providing quality public education and public safety protections. When Bob McDonnell raids local bank accounts, he threatens our local communities. 

Our elected officials shouldn't pass on tough choices--but that's exactly what Bob McDonnell is doing. When working Virginians have bills to pay we can't simply take money from someone else to pay them. We can't pass the buck on our bills and Bob McDonnell can't either. 

Get the Facts:

• Virginia ranks 7th in the country in per capita income, but 47th in per capita spending on transportation. The reason for such a large imbalance is the majority of Virginia's transportation funding comes from the fuel tax which currently sits at just 17 cents per gallon. However, the gas tax would be "35 cents today had it been indexed for inflation." (Bob Chase, president of the Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance, Daily Press, December 9, 2011)


• Bob McDonnell is currently spending $400,000 from his PAC on TV ads following a drop in his approval rating in a poll last month. (The Roanoke Times, April 29, 2012)


• Virginia loses $12.5 billion in revenue a year through credits and giveaways that receive little-to-no scrutiny and accountability. (JLARC)

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