Saturday, February 17, 2007
Second Verse, Same as the First
The transportation plans in the General Assembly right now are in more of a mess than Anna Nicole Smith's will.
We've seen the usual backbiting, sniping, and general chicanery about what's happening with Virginia's roads. It's all about saving face right now. Bill Howell and crew can't stand to give an inch to anyone, and Sen. Chichester won't even consider using a dime of old money.
What is so bad about committing money from the General Fund (the state's basic coffers) to transportation? Well, it's not about current money, it's about future money. Say things aren't so financially rosy for the state in a few years, would transportation be funded while schoolchildren have to read surplus textbooks from the 1940's? Of course not. But it is a bad precedent to simply pawn off current problems on future Assemblies. The car tax fiasco proved that one...
I have come up with the words that could solve this entire mess... Ready?
"Money from the general fund will go towards transportation as long as there is a surplus and committments to state services are funded in accordance with rates of inflation. If the state cannot achieve a surplus, taxes on gasoline and higher user fees on drivers will be enacted."
There. Everybody's happy. As long as we have enough money, we drop a ton of it on transportation. If we get into a bind, the people pay up. Surely the House Republicans would feel confident that their rosy predictions on Virginia's economy will come true. They can say they haven't raised taxes, and Chichester et al. can say that they are not raiding the General Fund. Everybody saves face, nobody really gave in, and we start clearing some of the transportation disasters across the state.
If we can't agree to a compromise like this, I think this session will end like last year, and the one before, etc. It's time to forget about grudges and GET SOMETHING DONE.
What I'm most upset about is some of the newer legislators not speaking out more strongly. They are the ones who promised change, but have not delivered so far.
I am glad to see two wings of the Republican party battle it out. It shows that a handful of people out there are still thinking for themselves and using their own versions of reason (even if it may be wrong), instead of merely toeing the party line.
We've seen the usual backbiting, sniping, and general chicanery about what's happening with Virginia's roads. It's all about saving face right now. Bill Howell and crew can't stand to give an inch to anyone, and Sen. Chichester won't even consider using a dime of old money.
What is so bad about committing money from the General Fund (the state's basic coffers) to transportation? Well, it's not about current money, it's about future money. Say things aren't so financially rosy for the state in a few years, would transportation be funded while schoolchildren have to read surplus textbooks from the 1940's? Of course not. But it is a bad precedent to simply pawn off current problems on future Assemblies. The car tax fiasco proved that one...
I have come up with the words that could solve this entire mess... Ready?
"Money from the general fund will go towards transportation as long as there is a surplus and committments to state services are funded in accordance with rates of inflation. If the state cannot achieve a surplus, taxes on gasoline and higher user fees on drivers will be enacted."
There. Everybody's happy. As long as we have enough money, we drop a ton of it on transportation. If we get into a bind, the people pay up. Surely the House Republicans would feel confident that their rosy predictions on Virginia's economy will come true. They can say they haven't raised taxes, and Chichester et al. can say that they are not raiding the General Fund. Everybody saves face, nobody really gave in, and we start clearing some of the transportation disasters across the state.
If we can't agree to a compromise like this, I think this session will end like last year, and the one before, etc. It's time to forget about grudges and GET SOMETHING DONE.
What I'm most upset about is some of the newer legislators not speaking out more strongly. They are the ones who promised change, but have not delivered so far.
I am glad to see two wings of the Republican party battle it out. It shows that a handful of people out there are still thinking for themselves and using their own versions of reason (even if it may be wrong), instead of merely toeing the party line.
Labels: Chichester, General Assembly, Transportation
