The Hampton Roads Daily Press has a rockin’ lead editorial today on the matter of tax increases in the 2004 Virginia General Assembly session. As you’ll recall, we cut spending to the bone in 2002, which is what led the Republican-dominated General Assembly to raise taxes in 2004. My favorite bit of the editorial where they beat up Del. Steve Landes for his comments this week about tax increases. He lambasted the Warner administration on the tax increases, saying that “you all have the worst record of any administration.” So Landes, he’s a real advocate of cutting spending. Right?
In the 2005 legislative session alone, Landes went to the well with spending requests – above and beyond that requested by the governor – totaling more than $25 million.
Let’s see, Landes asked for $820,000 to promote Virginia wine; $1.5 million for his local planning district; $2 million for a community college parking facility in Weyers Cave; $5 million for Rockingham County improvements and a nifty $2 million to restore a Waynesboro movie theater. That’s just a partial list, but it’s indicative of Del. Landes commitment to “conservatism.”
And what do you want to bet that Landes won’t show up at the next session looking for more publicly funded goodies, while also pitching new tax cuts?
Del. Landes is emblematic of the worst of our free-lunch legislators. These dopes simultaneously increase spending and vote to cut taxes, without any apparent understanding of the need to balance out the two. The very worst of them — among which Landes much surely be counted — proceed to decry those who raised the funding necessary to pay for their $2M movie theaters.
I love the conclusion of the Daily Press‘s editorial:
Not that anyone expects the we-told-you-so caucus to clam up, you understand. But since their powers of foresight are so great, their fiscal insights so penetrating, maybe we can get them to do us a favor. What do you say, won’t you help out Virginia and pinpoint the next recession? It’s an open invitation. Send it to us. We’ll put it in the newspaper.
Del. Landes? The rest of the free lunchers? Won’t you please enlighten us?