When Mark Warner became governor of Virginia, the state treasury was a shambles. The previous governor had gotten elected as a tax-eliminator, as he promised to end a tax that is universally hated in VA. He did not eliminate it; he stuck to his original plan, and had the state pay the tax to the localities instead of the taxpayer. Of course, the taxpayer paid the state to pay the localities, but, hey, he was cutting taxes, so we voted for him. Duh.
His plan cost the state big-time. We run a 2-year budget, and the only way to reduce our slide into federal-debt territory was to either raise taxes or reduce the amount that the state paid for local taxes. Mr. Gilmore was interested in running for president, and wanted his street cred to include the idea that he was willing to “cut” taxes regardless of the consequences. That fact, plus the facts he is white, hates gays, and is against abortion lined him up pretty well, in his opinion. The state legislature did not agree, and they created a stalemate, where Virginia was left without a budget, because he would not budge.
Mr. Warner, realizing the seriousness of the mess Mr. Gilmore left, threatened to reduce hours at DMV and at state liquor stores. This was a bluff; the state liquor stores are required to pay their own way, so they receive no direct state funding, so there would be absolutely no savings.
But the threat had the desired effect: DMV is hard enough to navigate without reduced hours, and no one wanted to have fewer hours to buy liquor. The people told their legislators to do something about it, and a series of changes to the tax code and a moderate tax increase saved our credit rating, and helped make the state more liquid.
I wonder if maybe Mr. Obama was trying to do the same thing when warning of consequences. Mr. Warner did not intend to make those cuts; he just threatened to do so to increase awareness. Doesn’t matter; many people are poised to call his bluff. We will all suffer as a result.
Too bad we have to wait for dire consequences to start thinking creatively (I’m being as optimistic as I can be here). And it’s too bad that some people are willing to increase pain for political advantage.
By the way, Mr. Warner is now US Senator from Virginia. Mr. Gilmore worked his way up to Republican National Committee chairman before his abrasive ways and his treatment of his marriage vows made him return to private life.
When Mark Warner became governor of Virginia, the state treasury was a shambles. The previous governor had gotten elected as a tax-eliminator, as he promised to end a tax that is universally hated in VA. He did not eliminate it; he stuck to his original plan, and had the state pay the tax to the localities instead of the taxpayer. Of course, the taxpayer paid the state to pay the localities, but, hey, he was cutting taxes, so we voted for him. Duh.
His plan cost the state big-time. We run a 2-year budget, and the only way to reduce our slide into federal-debt territory was to either raise taxes or reduce the amount that the state paid for local taxes. Mr. Gilmore was interested in running for president, and wanted his street cred to include the idea that he was willing to “cut” taxes regardless of the consequences. That fact, plus the facts he is white, hates gays, and is against abortion lined him up pretty well, in his opinion. The state legislature did not agree, and they created a stalemate, where Virginia was left without a budget, because he would not budge.
Mr. Warner, realizing the seriousness of the mess Mr. Gilmore left, threatened to reduce hours at DMV and at state liquor stores. This was a bluff; the state liquor stores are required to pay their own way, so they receive no direct state funding, so there would be absolutely no savings.
But the threat had the desired effect: DMV is hard enough to navigate without reduced hours, and no one wanted to have fewer hours to buy liquor. The people told their legislators to do something about it, and a series of changes to the tax code and a moderate tax increase saved our credit rating, and helped make the state more liquid.
I wonder if maybe Mr. Obama was trying to do the same thing when warning of consequences. Mr. Warner did not intend to make those cuts; he just threatened to do so to increase awareness. Doesn’t matter; many people are poised to call his bluff. We will all suffer as a result.
Too bad we have to wait for dire consequences to start thinking creatively (I’m being as optimistic as I can be here). And it’s too bad that some people are willing to increase pain for political advantage.
By the way, Mr. Warner is now US Senator from Virginia. Mr. Gilmore worked his way up to Republican National Committee chairman before his abrasive ways and his treatment of his marriage vows made him return to private life.