Most of you outside of Virginia are probably unaware of this, but our state has big-time, California-style budget problems (which is why yours truly has not received a raise at her day job in three years). Virginia bonds are on the verge of being downgraded by Moody’s, the consequences of which would be disastrous to the state’s finances.
A lot of the current crisis can be traced to the former governor, Republican Jim Gilmore, who busted the budget with unaffordable tax cuts. Somehow we managed to elect a good guy as governor, Mark Warner, who has tirelessly labored to straighten out the mess. But his proposal to restructure the tax code – which would actually
cut taxes for people with moderate incomes – has been blocked by anti-tax zealots. Now Virginia House Republicans refuse to do anything, poising us for a major meltdown (if the bond rating gets dropped, it will cost the state millions).
—posted by Jen, 4:19 PM -
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