Quiet Week as Revenues Slide
Posted by Chap at 1/17/2008 8:20 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
It's been a quiet first week in the State Senate. We haven't yet had any contested floor fights. In the House, we used to have a dozen every day.
The main state news has been the continuing slide in our state revenues. Shades of 2002, my first year in the House.
On Monday, Treasurer Jody Wagner briefed our Caucus with the latest budget numbers. Our income tax deposits are down and refund requests are up -- a bad sign for our most vital revenue source. Most retail outlets reported disappointing sales for December.
The biggest collapse has been in recordation tax receipts which fell 27% in December as compared with 2006, which was hardly a great year in the real estate industry.
It's incumbent upon legislators to come up with cost-cutting ideas. I have a couple that I'll propose in the next couple posts that I make ...
Is it too late to get back the $140 million that the Assembly gave away in 2006 when it repealed the tax on multi-million dollar inheritances?
I don't know how the VA Senate does things Chap, but when my wife & I know we're going to be short on funds next month, we institute a policy - I know you may not have heard about it, being in the Senate & all - the policy is that we CUT SPENDING.
That is to say, we don't "reduce the amount that we increase spending and call it a spending cut", we actually reduce the amount of money we spend across the board.
I saw my first Fairfax County Toyota Prius yesterday. I think State Troopers would look spiffy in Priuses instead cars that cost several thousand more and get worse gas mileage. Now I'm just thinking out loud here Chap, but when you go to the Virginia home page, and try to find a branch of the Virginia government, the alphabetic list is several pages long. These agencies owe it to us to step up to the plate and come up with ways to save. If they're not willing to come up with 5 or 10 percent cuts in spending, then the Assembly should institute a higher cut, across the board.
Just like we do with our own money at home.
Chap, thanks for the update. You saw this coming during the election last year.
How capable is the Senate to look at cost/benefit analysis when considering spending cuts. The earlier comment on using Prius vehicles by state police is good but actually neglects the problem with government, which consumers don't have. A prius is actually more expensive to buy than comparable vehicles. So why did my wife and I buy one? Because a cost/benefit analysis said that if we hold on to the car three years or more, we will save considerable amount of dollars over the life of the vehicle.
How do you as a Senator demonstrate that you should spend more on a purchase today because it will save in the long run? Do you have budgetary authority to incur expenses for the General Assembly in 2010? 2012? If not, then the cuts you make tomorrow may actually may things worse tomorrow than better. If you did nothing we might minimize future problems.
Cutting spending is too easy and pits different interests of residents, businesses, etc against each other. Cost/benefit based decisions, assuming the law allows, is a better way to go. Good luck.
Irv
Hi Chap. This is off topic, but very very important. I understand you sit on the committee that will be considering SB423. This bill is patently designed to help polluters and shut citizens out of the process. Additionally, I understand the vote in committee has been moved up to early Monday morning to thwart a lobbying effort by environmentalists that was scheduled for later in the day. I'm counting on you to display that you're on the side of the citizens and not the polluters. Please do the right thing.
Never fear, Joel. I've got materials on the bill and will be prepared by Monday. THanks for the heads up.
Chap, thanks for your responsiveness.
FYI - I learned of this from Rick Kennerly of the Tidewater Climate Action Network who posted about this at Raising Kaine.
Hi Chap. This is a friendly update on SB423 which I guess didn't come up this week, but which I understand will be coming up this Monday. Please vote against this quintessentially undemocratic bill. Thanks.