The state's transportation needs are here and now. The General Assembly and governor need to find common ground for a revenue stream to meet today's needs. In yesterday's post, CCC supported a tax on gas and diesel as the most honest (falls directly on those using the roads) and fairest (would be paid by both in-state and out-of-state motorists and truckers).
The delegate's proposal has nothing to do with the present needs. A federal moratorium on off-shore drilling has been in place since the Reagan administration. There is no guarantee it will be reversed by Congress. If it is, there will follow years of legal and environmental preparation before the first drill is sunk. If marketable quantities of oil and natural gas are off the Virginia coast, it will be years after that before they are brought to market and any royalties are paid to the state.
So why make the proposal now? The rabid anti-tax delegate never lets sound policy making get in the way of his agenda. This is smoke to distract from the real work of the special session. It is also presidential and senatorial politics.
When problems demand solutions we hope our leaders will rise above smoke and politics. We hope.
This proposal, made now, is chicken ____.
Posts
2 comments:
It angers me so when flat earth politicians come out with ideas that are bogus from the start. They always want something for nothing. Meanwhile the transportation crises gets worse everyday. Sad...really sad, and for all of us.
The revenue from taxes on cruise ships plying previously ice-choked Arctic Ocean routes can be used to combat global warming.
Post a Comment