Bob Marshall: "They gotta pay that back"

By: Lowell
Published On: 3/4/2008 6:30:40 AM

You know you've got a complete fiasco on your hands when the government is struggling to to stop collecting taxes and when Del. "Sideshow" Bob Marshall (R-Far Rightsville) is almost literally rolling on the floor "cackling" that "[t]hey stole money from us" and "gotta pay that back."

That's right, it's the transportation "monstrosity" we warned about last year (Eric even started a petition against it), now largely scrapped and/or declared unconstitutional (hate to say "we told you so" but...). See, this is what happens when you don't think things through, when you do something too fast and for the wrong reasons, and when people who know better (according to the Washington Post, "[Gov.] Kaine had to know the compromise was unlikely to pass muster with the courts, yet he failed to veto the deal.") don't stop it.  As a result, we're now left with the following fiasco:

Northern Virginia residents and visitors were still being hit with illegal taxes Monday as government officials struggled to halt the collection of $300 million worth of annual taxes and fees the Virginia Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional Friday.

The Northern Virginia Transportation Authority called an emergency meeting for Thursday to respond to the court decision stripping its taxing authority and officially cancel the taxes.

As if that's not bad enough, the Powers That Be are now back to the drawing board, square one, ground zero, etc.  They're stuck with exactly the challenge they faced last year, to figure out a way to finance billions of dollars in badly needed transportation improvements for Virginia before our bridges start collapsing and our mobility dwindles to nothing.  The obvious solution would be a statewide plan that raises the revenues needed and stops screwing around with "fees" and balkanized, regional approaches.  In other words, just bite the damn bullet already and get the job done already.  Or, watch Virginia's economy strangle in a traffic nightmare that our "leaders" couldn't resolve for the life of them.

By the way, let's give credit where credit is due here.  According to the Washington Post:

The blame for this mess does not rest solely on House Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, the Fairfax Democrat, was outspoken from the get-go about the fact that last year's compromise was unconstitutional...

Good for Sen. Saslaw, who is welcome to join Bob Marshall and many of us here at Raising Kaine in the "I told you so" chorus. Heh.  

Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the spectacle: "weeks of wrangling and gamesmanship, all designed to concoct some way once again to raise the money without appearing to raise the money."  Hey, is that Bob Marshall I hear cackling in the distance?  Ha.

Comments



Flat Earthers Caught Flat Footed in a Ruse (dsvabeachdems - 3/4/2008 7:10:05 AM)
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!"


That's nice they want to do a refund..... (Scott Surovell - 3/4/2008 9:32:23 AM)
But how do you refund $2.50 to the poor schlep who had his tire changed between enactment and Monday who paid the car repair tax?

What a total fiasco.



The reason Balkanization is necessary (Va Blogger2 - 3/4/2008 9:54:33 AM)
Is because Northern Virginia provides about one-third of the revenue the state generates in taxes, and gets a fraction of it back. Just increasing the statewide tax rate would result in a marginal return for Northern Virginia transportation projects, and much more money for unneeded roads in downstate projects where influential members of the GA reside.

I should also point out that the I-35 Bridge collapse in Minnesota last year was the result of a design flaw, not the sign of a crumbling infrastructure.



An argument FOR Balkanization? (Lowell - 3/4/2008 9:57:22 AM)
I'll tell you, if you blog long enough you're bound to hear pretty much everything.  


You've never heard an argument (Va Blogger2 - 3/4/2008 12:24:49 PM)
for a regional approach to taxation before? Really?


Design flaw (Teddy - 3/4/2008 12:06:36 PM)
has been designated by a lengthy investigation as the "reason" the Minnesota bridge collapsed.  No doubt true as far as it goes.  Nevertheless, it seems obvious to me that adequate maintenance and regular in-depth (i.e., not cursory) inspections would have been more likely to notice the early warning signs of the collapse.  What of the thousands of other bridges across the country which suffer the same design flaw? They will have to be, ah  to be fixed.  And that maintenance will have to go far beyond layering another load of asphalt on the problematic span, as I believe they had done and were in fact continuing to do, at the time of the collapse of I-35... "Old Shakey."


No need to denigrate MN bridge inspectors (Va Blogger2 - 3/4/2008 12:27:32 PM)
The design flaw was something that the routine in-depth inspections did not cover, had no reason to cover, and even if they did it wouldn't show any signs of deterioration. Something was supposed to be X meters thick and instead it was Y inches. No inspection would've caught that.


If we go down this road (tx2vadem - 3/4/2008 2:01:06 PM)
What is the point then of Northern Virginia being part of the Commonwealth?  Why not have the General Assembly delegate all of its taxation authority to localities?  Then we could end state income tax, state sales tax, personal property tax and the slew of excise taxes at the state level.  This would be an incredibly inefficient means to collect tax and would create a patch work of rules across every county in the state.  But then, we could all keep the money we contribute.  Though I guess we could still pay the state agency to provide the tax collection service and save on costs.

It doesn't seem like a good process to me.  I like the idea of shared burdens and need based allocations.  On the downstate projects point you make, I'm not really sure how the GA allocates transportation funds (i.e., whether it is a general appropriation to VDOT or whether they specify each project they are funding).  But if indeed they are creating allocations of funds that don't represent need or fundamental economic prioritization (aka the most-bang-for-you-buck allocation method), then the public needs to address that.  But as long as people don't pay attention, this is the way things will go.  



well, what's more likely? (Sui Juris - 3/4/2008 9:59:33 AM)
Northern Virginia taxing itself and solving its own transportation problems, or the rest of the state suddenly deciding that they're going to take a shorter ride on our gravy train so we can address our problems?


Marshall (R-Far Rightsville) (Barbara - 3/4/2008 1:15:27 PM)
Great designation.  I'm still laughing.  Still, no matter how much I dislike this guy he was right on this one.  

I'm owed $250 bucks; guess I'll have to thank him when I get it back.  



Ultimately, this is sad (tx2vadem - 3/4/2008 2:11:29 PM)
This was the best a divided GA could do last year.  And we are in a very similar situation this year.  I don't know that Governor Kaine has any leverage in the House to do anything substantial in this regard.  So, we are likely to end up with nothing.

We should just see whether our congressional delegation can insert transportation funds into the defense bills.  Since so much of our growth is attributable to defense and homeland security appropriations, it would only make since to cover some of the cost of upgrading our transportation networks.



Watch Cuccinelli (citizenindy - 3/4/2008 5:35:52 PM)
Gas tax is in the works


Will do (tx2vadem - 3/4/2008 7:13:39 PM)
Maybe he can talk some sense into his colleagues in the House.  If he can do that, he may keep that seat in the next election.


Creigh Deeds on the transportation debacle (Lowell - 3/4/2008 6:23:33 PM)
Dear Friends,

On Friday, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the taxing abilities granted to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) in last year's transportation package were unconstitutional. While the court was only asked to review the NVTA, this also compromises the ability of the Hampton Roads Transportation Authority (HRTA) to issue bonds--backed by locally authorized increases in taxes and fees--to fund new road construction projects. While I have long been critical of this transportation plan, real leadership is about taking part in the process of crafting a solution and providing a vision for moving us forward together.

Virginia Needs a Statewide Transportation Vision for the 21st Century. As our Commonwealth has grown and changed over the years, so have our transportation needs. Yet our transportation policy has not adapted to the changing dynamic of a 21st century economy that thrives on the ability to efficiently move people, goods and services. Our two most congested areas, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, require special attention--but we will not solve this challenge by dividing the state geographically and pitting regions against one another for transportation funding.

I believe that a successful statewide transportation plan must have three components: a dedicated source of revenue for construction and maintenance; a legal framework for linking land use and growth policies with our transportation infrastructure that is implemented at the local and regional levels; and, continuing to reform the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to increase efficiency and responsiveness.

Unfortunately, the Transportation Package that Passed Last Year Did Not Take this Long-Term View of Virginia's Future. Instead of putting in place a sustainable source of revenue, it relied on financing through debt and shifting General Fund dollars from education and public safety to transportation-and of course, the abusive driver fee gimmick that some of my colleagues and I argued would never produce the revenue that was anticipated.

As is all too often the case, the devil was not just in the details but also in the process: What was chiefly lacking during last year's session was that the Republican leadership developed their plan in secret. Had all of the General Assembly's leaders, regardless of partisan affiliation, been included, I am certain we would have advanced a comprehensive statewide transportation solution that moved Virginia forward.

From Here We Must Enact a Statewide Plan that Recognizes the Important Link Between Transportation and Economic Growth. There are just a few short days left in this legislative session, and right now it does not appear feasible that we will be able to address this important issue before we are scheduled to adjourn at the end of the week. I support the idea of a special session dedicated to completing work on a statewide transportation plan later in the year. If we take nothing off the table and dedicate ourselves to a long-term transportation vision, I'm confident we can and will be successful in addressing this challenge. But if rigid ideology and partisan politics come before crafting a transportation policy that benefits the people and ultimately the future generations of Virginia, we will have done our constituents a disservice.

I hope you will take the time to share with me your thoughts and concerns about our transportation policy as we move forward to address this important issue. I'm committed to working with Governor Kaine and leaders in both parties to develop a statewide transportation plan. Your input as I move forward in that process is greatly appreciated. You can reach me at my office in Richmond by calling 804-698-7525 or by e-mail at senatordeeds@embarqmail.com.

Very Truly Yours,

Senator Deeds