For those about to tax, we remind you
By Brian Kirwin | Sunday, January 31st, 2010 | Politics“The ranks of Hampton Roads’ unemployed grew by more than 2,400, while the jobless rate climbed to 6.9 percent from 6.6 percent in November, the VEC said.” (Virginian-Pilot).
100 Delegates and 40 Senators approach February with November distinctly in their rear-view mirror. Remember November? When finding any of them who would support a tax increase would be akin to finding a Reverend Wright at a Republican fundraiser?
Things ain’t great. Hampton Roads unemployment is worse than statewide unemployment. So, it ticks me off when rich folks in rich counties slap a $1,000 annual toll on Hampton Roads commuters to pay for road maintenance while their wealthy selves get Hampton Roads gas tax money to pay for theirs.
It ticks me off when those who represent the most economically distressed cities in Hampton Roads are sweating over how to get government more money.
Local governments are in a bind, too. It isn’t a secret that more and more challengers for Delegate and Senator have been coming from local government, implanting a huge incentive for state legislators to put the squeeze on City Councils by passing along the revenue cuts. Nothing derails a challenger like a record of raising real estate taxes, ya know.
Meanwhile, some people think that rising unemployment is just the perfect time to continue their mantra about a “transportation crisis” that is just going to destroy things if we don’t build another group of tunnels and raise taxes. (and no, the national recession wasn’t caused by a lack of a third crossing which, even if the 2002 referendum passed, wouldn’t have been even close to built yet)
This transportation crisis risks being the Chicken Little of Virginia Politics. There’s only so many years voters can hear calls of impending doom before they start asking why it hasn’t happened. Kind of like that LANDSLIDE of lawsuits and litigation that we were promised would result from the marriage amendment.
Don’t even get me started about the global warming that would flood the coasts, if you ignore the coming ice age warned by the same crowd in the 1970s.
That’s the problem with crisis rhetoric. When you cry “Wolf!,” there better be a wolf.
So, as “Let them eat cake” legislators who think nothing of hitting up the folks for higher payments to government during rising unemployment, let’s pretend it’s before Election Day again.
Stop making hard times worse.
Tags:
Contribute for Conservatism!
Share this post
About the author
The right wants to jeer him. The left wants to censor him. Moderates usually want both. Brian Kirwin is a political consultant and public relations strategist in Virginia Beach with a lightning-rod flair. Brian also serves on the VB Arts & Humanities Commission and frequently appears on Hampton Roads theatrical stages, if only to prove that all actors aren’t liberals. Kirwin’s columns stir up debate and hit the political scene with no punches pulled.
Comments
25 Responses to "For those about to tax, we remind you"
In the year
2000, more than 80% of Virginia voters said
yes to the creation of the State Lottery Proceeds Fund. The measure, now a permanent part of Virginia’s Constitution, directs all Virginia
Lottery profits be used solely for educational purposes.
Those lottery profits could have been useful for funding other problems today. Wonder how that vote would go now ?? Wonder if it is possible to have a lottery where all profits would go to transportation issues?? Or to help local governments ??
400 years ago Jamestown was founded right next to the James River. It is still right there next to the James River. Of course if we do not pass cap and trade TOMORROW it will be under 5 feet of water before 2010.
Party like its 1773
no a crisis hasn’t happened but it wouldn’t hurt to have some improvements in transportation. so is that why republicans won’t agree on anything, because they think that this current transportation system in VA is fine? also, would it hurt for VA to look at other state governments and how they fund they’re transportation. cuz in NC, i thought it was primarily Rep but yet they still passed an increase in sales tax to help transportation.
I wouldn’t mind for those who prefer other states to go ahead and live there.
“400 years ago Jamestown was founded right next to the James River. It is still right there next to the James River. ” found this great shot of an overlay of the footprint of the original Jamestown Fort and an aerial picture of the site today; you can see the inundation of the James River: http://blog.otisair.com/images/24536-23348/orig_2.jpg
Indeed a great photo Missy.
However
In 1893 Jamestown was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Barney. The Barneys gave 22 1/2 acres of land, including the 17th-century church tower, to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (now Preservation Virginia). By this time James River erosion had eaten away the island’s western shore; visitors began to conclude that the site of James Fort lay completely underwater. With federal assistance, a sea wall was constructed in 1900 to protect the area from further erosion.
So is the missing part due to rising sea levels or river erosion???
Party like its 1773
t1ewis,firstly, North Carolina is not Virginia. They have their own set of localities and timelines of development. You’re not comparing apples to apples. Secondly, perhaps their transportation advocates have been doing a better job of communicating?
If you are going to interject partisanship by placing the blame on Republicans, you need to look at two things. 1)That cuts off teamwork right from the start 2)Democrats and moderate Republicans have been telling us for years that we ARE in a crisis. Even as they rob transportation funding for other budgets, they scream “crisis”. When the premise you stand on is shown to be full of …..exaggeration,….why would the other side bother to listen to your hype?
If you are to suggest that, no, we are not in a “crisis”. I welcome that as refreshing change. If your point is that continual improvement is desired in and of itself, I am inclined to agree with you.
It has always amazed me how political operatives pay attention to the budget but not to the balance sheet. Perhpas the author has not a clue because he has actually never run a company, but to an entrepreneur, both are important. As a CEO, I can make the budget look great if I ignore the balance sheet. If you concentrate on the former, sure, you look like a genius, but in a few years, after you have failed to invest in long term assets for your company, the run is over. Stop investment in schools, colleges, and transportation infrastructure? Our kids will have to pay, long after the pied piper is gone.
Nice to see Mike attack “the author” and not the issue.
i mainly mentioned Rep not for finger pointing but that when needed, a tax is the only alternative. now mind u, i agree as well that u should avoid tax but when ur backed into a corner like we are, where else are u gonna turn. but that was just an example i was using as far as funding goes. u can sit back and say we aren’t this place and that place but in truth that’s why we’re where we are now. i’ve never seen a state have so many great resources and can’t use them. ur right Brian, we should just move to those states, cuz that’s what most people AND businesses are doing. they’re moving out of VA. so yeah i could sit back and say, “oh there’s no looming crisis we’re fine”, but i would be lying to myself and anybody else that was trapped in those tunnels July 2, 2009.
“cuz that’s what most people AND businesses are doing. they’re moving out of VA”
That’s completely untrue and an out and out lie.
a lie? ok prove it to me. even if businesses aren’t, citizen’s are. that i know is a fact. several of my friends have left VA because of lack of opportunity. did they want to leave, of course not. yes several of my friends aren’t all of VA but i know that if they did it so did other citizens. the fact is is that we need a new infrastructure. we’re outgrowing this one much like a snake outgrows it’s skin when it doesn’t shed. i actually support Gov. Mcdonnell’s plan for privatizing ABC’s. i would really like to see this/his 16 page plan that says he has for funding transportation. my skepticism against any of the leaders, Dem or Rep, is that they don’t work towards a solution or a compromise.
I have to prove that something is false? C’mon…..you made the statement. Prove it’s true. You wrote:
“that’s what most people AND businesses are doing. they’re moving out of VA.”
So, our population should be less than half of what it was and the number of businesses should be more than 50% less than it was before.
Get to backing up your idiotic claims with facts.
Whoa. We need to slow down the express here…moving OUT of Virginia?
News to me. Please prove with census, labor, or other pertinent data.
Data and facts are wonderful things. Anecdotes and hyperbole should be checked at the door.
Brian and JR, t1ewis is somewhat correct. However, they are leaving our region, but not the commonwealth of Virginia. Yes there is census data to back that up. I used it to explain to Mike Barrett and others that the cost of living created by an unbalanced cost of housing and a hefty tax burden is forcing people to leave. This actually did contribute to labor shortages in some sectors, which improved with layoffss and cutbacks. Unless there are changes, labor could become tight again if unemployment numbers drop to traditional Tidewater area rates.
Leaving the area has to do with yes, a lack of opportunity, but more so, being priced out of the region. “Big Government” types didn’t care, they consider these people as not being “tax efficient”. What they don’t get is that in addition to paying their smaller property taxes, they do pay sales taxes, fees, and provide cheap labor that keep the local economic machine lubricated. They are part of the foundation of VB/Hampton Roads that is crumbling under the weight of the cost of living vs. available income.
Here is the 2008 census data. If Virginia Beach does not pop up automatically, put Virginia and then Virginia Beach city, or any city you wish.
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/03/database-2008-county-population-estimates?appSession=026133731493990
Let’s be clear though, they’re leaving for reaons OTHER than this alleged transportation crisis.
t1ewis, do you have a name? Lewis maybe? Anyway, taxes are not our last option. We would have had more funding for transportation if it wasn’t raided. The irony is, now they scream about transportation needs raiding the general fund, now and how that can’t be allowed to happen.
t1ewis, I am a firm believer in continual improvement programs and setting yourself up for the next level in the future. However, our representatives have stolen that investment in transportation for other pet projects and budgets and are just scamming us by replacing that funding by taxing us. Taxing us to replace what THEY took.
Sorry, Britt. “Most” people and businesses haven’t left.
Right, that “most” I believe was hyperbole on his part, but his point that people are moving out of Va. Beach and the region is still accurate as supported by that census chart I linked to.
Sure, to a lot of people, losing 1,258 people deosn’t sound like a whole lot. However, the business community will be concerned. Anyone wanting “density” projects should be also.
This means that in one year 1,258 more people left or died than moved here or were born. THAT is definitely a bad thing. Its not good for our tax base either. You may have seen stories about elementary schools closing due to there not being enough students. Who is most likely to be priced out of the area due to housing costs/tax burden vs. income? Young couples with young children. If you’re in the school system, you had better appreciate the military. That is one sector where military housing (and orders)help keep young children here despite a poor economy and high cost of living. This all could have been worse.
Still, hyperbole or not, t1ewis’s point is correct. Our population, labor, and consumer pool has been shrinking. That’s not good.
Again, the reason for that is related to cost of living vs. income and not some traffic crisis.
Britt, you’re making a lot of assumptions. 1,258 is seven-hundredths of a percent of the population of Hampton Roads. You’re really going to set macroeconomic policy based on the actions of a 0.0007 segment of the population?
Plus, you can’t tell if they were young couples with kids and masters degrees, or if they were seniors in assisted living, or anything. How can you derive a public policy direction from an infinitesimal sliver of the population that you don’t even know much about?
Assumptions? Yes. Lots of them? No. And those assumptions are graded by other evidence. For example, those elderly you mention mostly don’t have elementary school kids. Sure, some grandparents raise grand kids, but I’m making an educated assumption that that percentage will be negligible. So, although there may be elderly that paid their homes off long ago, on fixed incomes, and get priced out/forced to sell due to the hefty property tax, they are not connected to the elementary schools.
If I made it out to be that only people with young children were moving out, I did not mean to do that. The school closings are just something that was easy to point to since I know many saw articles related to Plaza Elem. etc. closing in the news/newspaper. For brevity’s sake I focused on a more recognizable set of evidence.
Addressing the size issue you mention, the state gained a small amount of total population. The state is growing. We are shrinking. Even if it is by a small percentage, a declining population is very bad and evidence that something has gone wrong.
For the sake of brevity, haha, a joke when you consider the lengths of my posts, I did not mention all of my evidence. I can further show budgetary stress on families and point to past city policies that stressed promoting “tax efficient” development(established families w/ fewer kids) and later council efforts to get “work force” housing going. That form of housing being a confession that young less established people that are in public safety, teaching, and those with comparable salaries have a hard time affording to live here.
Forbes – Listing VB as 10th least friendly metro area when it comes to cost of living vs. income:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/02/cities-ten-budget-forbeslife-cx_fl_1202realestate.html
Basically, Forbes has Virginia Beach as the 10th least friendly city to families. This based on statistics that show:
Median Annual Family Income: $59,441
Average Annual Family Budget: $48,349
Budget as Percent of Income: 81%
(Forbes)Sources: 2007 American Community Survey; Economic Policy Institute’s Basic Family Budget Calculator.
Historic income trends:
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/03/hampton-roads-cost-living-68-above-national-average
“To make matters worse, both Agarwal and Greg Grootendorst, deputy executive director for economics for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, noted that wages locally are below the national average.”
“We had been preaching right up until 2005 how our incomes were less than the national average, but that was OK, because so was the cost of living,” he said. “Now incomes remain below average and the cost of living is above the national average. Yet we do maintain a good quality of life.”
Grootendorst noted that the survey did not cover the entire nation, only selected regions.” – Virginian Pilot Article
Grootendoorst’s last comment about quality does not change the facts of income vs. cost of living.
Elementary school closings urged by consultants due to over capacity:
For those that didn’t read it or see it on TV.
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/04/board-votes-close-plaza-elementary-va-beach
Council confessing there’s a problem:
http://hamptonroads.com/node/192601
The 134-acre site is currently zoned for slightly more than 800 houses. When Sandler representatives approached the city about the project, Scott said, he asked them to consider homes that teachers, firefighters and nurses could afford.
“If we want a company to come to Virginia Beach, it’s important that it’s a place that their employees can live in,” said Councilman Bob Dyer, who represents the Centerville District, where the proposed project is located. – The above linked Va Pilot article
That confession from Dyer is HUGE!
Local mortgages being underwater exceed national average
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/08/hampton-roads-1-3-homes-mortgages-underwater
The report showed that for the first time the percentage of mortgages underwater in Hampton Roads had exceeded the national average of 32.2 percent.
Let’s talk about localities reaping those HUGE tax revenue gains during the bubble. It doesn’t take a nobel prize winning economist to realize that all that increased property tax revenue will come to an abrupt end. When housing prices continue to spiral up, yet incomes do not, there WILL be a problem!! Budget accordingly! When you look at all the historic evidence of economic pressure, don’t ignore it for the sake of your special interest buddies.
…..and yes,….I am assuming that all that stuff contributes to people having to leave. Additionally, t1ewis’s evidence is indeed just his personal glimpse from a minute statistical pool, but anecdotal evidence or not, it is a supporting anecdote illustrating reality.
But, don’t worry Brian. As you pointed out in your past article posts, Mayor Sessoms, City Manager Spore, and friends want to raise our taxes. They’re from the government and they’re here to help.
Britt, great information that doesn’t change what I said. Seven-hundredths of a percent in population shift is nothing to base macropolicy on.
But since you focus on Virginia Beach so much, Virginia Beach population per the Weldon Cooper Center (WCC) at UVA is at the highest point ever at 434,412 in 2009. It had dropped slightly in 2005-2007 but has made up the drop and more.
Now, if you want to get into a debate about incomes, that’s a whole new topic. Bottom line….”most people” aren’t leaving, and if they were, I don’t think that would be the most brilliant talking point for people complaining about traffic congestion.
Firstly, if their numbers are correct, I will assume they are, that points to an increase of population from 2008 to 2009. I don’t have census numbers on me for 2009. However, the assessment that the population made up for the loss from 2007 to 2008 and that it being an all time high is incorrect according to census data.
2007 VB population(census info)=435,004
2008 VB population(census info)=433,746
2009 VB population(WCC/UVAinfo)=434,412
That does show an increase to 2009 by 666 people……scary number.
An increase yes. Compared with census data, it is not an all time high and does not make up the drop and more. 2007 is higher than 2009.
Also, your point is the same, but your percentage drop, is off. It isn’t 7 hundreths of 1%(.9993). If you divide 433,746(2008) by 435,004(2008) you get .997108continuing or rounding to .997 as the census did, that gives you 3 tenths of 1% of the total population. Your point of contention remains. That is a small percentage, to be sure.
I contend that small percentage is still unnatural and a very bad trend and indeed yes, you base some policy change around that trend. The numbers you ask for and the hyperbole of “most” goes beyond damage. That would be outright disaster and devastation. I would see that .3% still as a detrimental statistic especially given current policies that rely on good growth or “density” for density projects.
This is bad, but I’m not saying that the sky is falling unless we continue in this direction and maintain the same policies of tax and spend.
So, we disagree on the importance of that decline. We do agree that “most” are not leaving(hyperbole). “Most” that do leave, “may” be leaving for income/cost reasons. And yes, it is a silly arguement(population decline) for congestion relief.
whew
Run the numbers after an Aircraft Carrier gets transferred to Florida.
well let me ask u Britt, do you think it’s possible to get the transportation funding back or is it a lost cause?
t1ewis, I don’t think it is a lost cause, but it will take effort and a willingness to fight. You will be accused of not caring about the children. That is what the general fund is for, the children and nothing else. You knew that right? They’ll say we’re stealing from school budgets and say it all goes to children. The general fund also is in addition to actual education funding, you knew that right?
It all goes for children, but when a Bob McDonnell rightly suggests shifting the school budget to higher percentages going to the teachers and classrooms instead of out of the classroom costs, the “teacher” unions go nuts and point to studies that show more money doesn’t help educate! Gov. McDonnell turned their “do it for the children” arguement against them and they flipped out trying to explain themselves. Truly brilliant on the part of McDonnell. “Education interests” are about growing government and connecting more of the population directly to government employment. They are NOT “doing it for the children”.
Education waste isn’t the only enemy, but a good example of what will be faced.
Another big step will be to convince everyone, including politicians, that we face a transportation emergency. They all say we are. They call us names for opposing new transportation taxes, because we are ignoring this emergency. May from N.Virginia was……what was it again? Something like “somewhat taken aback” at our problems? Even HE thinks there’s an emergency.
If there is an emergency, we have to convince our representatives of their own rhetoric. Quote them, and let them know they had better rearrange priorites. It is a CRISIS and we need funding or we will collapse, right? THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Act like it is a crisis if you say one exists. Our local GA members must be made to know they are expected to go as a united front and demand that Hampton Roads get its share of funding. The state has to pay for state owned port expansion, not just us. Hampton Roads generates a large deal of state revenue. Surely, if we are in crisis, it is in the interest of the entire state to see that this need is met. Even if it means a temporary shift of funding streams.
thank you for that input Britt. do u have a blog?
Leave your response
The comments section is for meaningful discussion. Readers are reminded to post comments that are germane to the article and write in a common language that steers clear of personal attacks and/or vulgarities.
Please take a moment to review our comment policy.