In a post on Bacon's Rebellion entitled, "Cold Fusion-Dry Water-Hot Ice," Barnie Day points out the contradictions and absurdities which Jerry Kilgore's tax cut and spending plans imply. Specifically, while pledging to "lower our taxes and fulfill our promise to fully phase out the car tax," Kilgore also promises a wad of new spending in various areas. Day lists a few that Kilgore specifically mentioned at the Greenbrier Debate on Saturday:
*"My better pay for better teachers plan"
*"giving parents tax credits?up to $500 per child"
*"more dollars into the transportation system by using general fund dollars"
*"increase funding, the hourly rate that we do pay those who represent indigent defendants"
I would add a few more, from Kilgore's website:
*"dedicating funding to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for personnel and resources to assist businesses in their efforts to prevent and reduce pollution" (Either this is a sham or Kilgore really is going to spend the money needed to Save the Bay, etc.)
"Delivering Relief to Homeowners: Reining In Runaway Real Estate Tax Assessments" (This could cost local governments billions of dollars)
*"Establishing tax credits for families and employers for long-term care insurance" (This could cost a fortune)
*"Committing an additional $20 million over 4 years... to establish additional community and rural health centers in Virginia's underserved areas" (Well, at least we Kilgore puts a price tag on this one, but who knows if it's accurate)
*"Offer investment tax credits for physician offices investing in IT equipment and integrated information systems" (God knows how much this would cost)
*"Financial assistance to law enforcement agencies and other programs to provide services to domestic violence victims and their children" (If Kilgore is truly to committed to this, how much money is he willing to spend on "financial assistance?" He doesn't specify)
The bottom line here? Who knows, because it's all vague as Jerry Kilgore likes to keep things, but it looks like the supposedly "conservative" candidate in Virginia this year could be proposing millions or even billions in new spending per year, all while cutting taxes. Gee, haven't we seen this dog and pony show before, here in Virginia? I believe it was known as the Governor Gilmore Economic Disaster and Budget Meltdown Plan, and it involved running our state's finances into a ditch. According to Nationmaster.com:
At the end of Gilmore's term, Virginia was in its worst budget crisis in history due in large part to the cost of phasing out the "car tax". The deficit was aproximately 1.5 billion dollars. The massive debt left by Gilmore was a key factor in the victory of Democrat Mark Warner in the 2001 election.
As we all know, the Warner/Kaine Administration has turned this around the past 3 1/2 years, restoring Virginia's AAA bond rating and earning "best managed state in the country" plaudits with an "A-" rating from the Government Performance Project.
Now, Jerry Kilgore wants to lurch backwards and undo all the progress made here in Virginia the past 3 1/2 years. Why on earth would we want to do this? And why is Jerry Kilgore promising things that he KNOWS he can't deliver without raising taxes? Several main possibilities spring to mind: 1) he's just saying all this stuff to get elected but has absolutely no intention of carrying it out, 2) he intends to stand by his "cut every tax, fund every priority" plans and will simply run up huge deficits in the process, ruining our state; 3) he plans to cut taxes and NOT hold to his spending promises, but instead CUT spending on critical needs like transportation and health care in order to keep the deficit from ballooning out of control; or 4) he plans to hold to his spending promises and actually RAISE TAXES in order to pay for them (note that Kilgore has refused to sign the "State Taxpayer Protection Plan").
So which is it, Jerry? You can't have it every which way, even though you think you can. Are you, as I believe they say in Texas (where your puppet master, Scott "Black Hands" Howell, hails from), "all hat and no cattle?" Do you think the voters of Virginia are not smart enough to figure out what you're doing here? Did you ever hear the expression "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me?"
Given all this, the question for this November is actually very sijmple, my fellow Virginians. Which candidate will we entrust to lead our state -- Jerry Kilgore, the fiscally disastrous heir to Jim Gilmore? Or Tim Kaine, the "AAA" lieutenant to Mark Warner? This is not a difficult choice. Go Kaine!