For 2007 Ken reminded us that a few weeks and 400 years ago an unruly band of economic adventurers arrived from England, looking primarily for gold. The Indians who owned the land decided these newcomers were ?overdressed, didn?t bathe, and did not have the good sense to plant crops for their future needs.? (Hmm, one listener thinks, any similarities to today, at least when it comes to attire and willingness to plan? and pay? for future needs?)
Delegate Plum, proud to be a member of the Virginia Assembly, the ?oldest continuous legislative body in this hemisphere,? then time-warped from Jamestown to update the mixed reports of the original settlers: The remnants of the eight Indian tribes may finally receive overdue federal recognition, if, that is, the Indians agree not to allow gambling which might compete with the Virginia state lottery. The original cash crop of tobacco has been replaced with? microchips. The Chesapeake Bay, once pristine and teeming with fish now has dead zones, and the Africans, imported against their will to do the heavy work of the colony as slaves, are now free, even though it took a Civil War to accomplish this (also called The War of Northern Aggression, remember).
Virginians love their historical perspective, but one ?challenge in being tied to the past is deciding when it is time to cut free and move on,? and Ken?s first example was the one-term limitation on the Governor. Originally imposed out of a justified fear of monarchically inclined chief executives, today the term limit deprives a governor of being readily able to implement innovative policies through control of the budget cycle: he/she spends the first third of their term implementing the last governor?s budget, and the last third preparing a budget for the next governor to implement. Wag of Finger to those who opposed permitting two consecutive terms for the Governor.
Tip of the Hat to those involved in the remarkable revitalization of historic buildings in Lynchburg, especially to Dr. Donna Boyd, who was recognized by the National Trust for Historic Properties. Another Tip of the Hat to those involved in the outstanding restoration of the State Capitol building, originally designed by Thomas Jefferson and built in 1789, now totally modernized while preserving its Jeffersonian style.
Big Wag of Finger to the majority Republican Party leadership of the House of Delegates for giving unlimited authority to standing committee chairs to assign bills to five-member subcommittees for consideration, where, with a quorum of only three a bill can be killed by as few as two members on an unrecorded vote? in other words, in secret. Over 40 percent of legislation introduced last year was killed this way in subcommittees, often by just two members out of the 100-member House. One result of this duplicitous system is the legislative success of out-of-the-mainstream conservatives (this listener would say, of ?radical reactionaries?).
For example, the ultra-conservative Virginia Family Foundation, which was the main force behind the so-called marriage amendment, pushed any and all anti-abortion legislation including one bill imposing such so-called health and safety measures on clinics that they would be forced to close; favored a sunset date on all taxes; opposed stem cell research; urged increased tax credits for private schools; and opposed the Senate plan for increased taxes and fees to support transportation improvements. The House actually passed every single one of these Family Foundation-supported bills, but fortunately the Senate killed most of them. When the Foundation issued its score card on members of the Assembly, 34 Republican Delegates and one Democrat scored 100 percent? none of the 60 Republican members scored below 85 but 25 Democrats scored 25 or less (Delegate Plum says he earned a 5 percent rating from the Family Foundation). In the 40-person Senate, on the other hand, only two Republican Senators scored 100, and 13 Democrats scored less than 25. (This listener was reminded that it is exactly those moderate Republicans in the Senate and the House who have retired or been defeated in primaries by extremely conservative Republicans, putting in jeopardy the moderating influence of the Senate in the future).
Delegate Plum pointed out that, like the deep ideological split in the Assembly, there are in fact two Virginias in almost every way: Northern Virginia, and the rest of Virginia. Out of a population of approximately 7.5 million, over one million live in just one jurisdiction, Fairfax (the next largest is Virginia Beach, 400,000). Of the 134 counties and cities, 119 have populations under 100,000, while19 have fewer than 10,000. In 2005, Virginia ranked 7th among the states in per capita personal income at $38,390 (higher than the national average of $34,760), but within the Old Dominion Northern Virginia?s per capita income was nearly $49,000 whereas in Southwest and Southside it was $21,000 (that?s lower than that of the poorest state of all, Louisiana, at $24,582). The same disparity shows up in education, where Virginia ranks third nationally for having the most masters degrees and PhD?s at the same time we also have the highest percentage of adults (18.5 percent) who do not even have a high school diploma (30 percent in Southside and Southwest). On the other hand, according to ?Education Week,? a Virginia child is more likely to experience success throughout life than the average child elsewhere in the United States based on twelve indicators. Eleven of Virginia high schools were ranked by Newsweek in the top 100 across the country, and 10 of these were north of the Rappahannock. Northern Virginia?s advantages are so high they pull up the state?s averages, and thus obscure the real needs of the rest of the state.
Tip of the Hat to Governor Kaine who used his ?magnificent negotiation skills? to create a ?modest? transportation package, the first in over 20 years. Why, asked Ken, could it take so long to address such a desperate problem, and why, when we did do so was the response so limited? Partly the answer was to be found in the no-tax, no-growth mind set of many Virginians, reflected in the Republican-dominated Assembly, and in the huge tax cuts pushed by recent Republican Governors George Allen and Jim Gilmore, including the (in)famous car tax cut. Governor Kaine managed a baby first step on transportation, but be prepared to re-visit transportation in two years once the voters realize just how little we actually have done.
Meanwhile, Plum, Chair of the Board of the Dulles Corridor Rail Association (DCRA), is pleased with progress on this project, with construction to begin early in 2008. It is his view that ?we not make missteps that ...cause delay... that could jeopardize the $900 million federal monies expected for it.?
Low taxes are all very well, but they do have consequences: Virginia ranks 42d lowest among all 50 states in the amount it spends on public education K-12 . This stinginess forces local taxpayers to pick up the difference through higher property taxes. Our in-state tuition at public 4-year institutions is 18th highest in the nation. Medicaid costs are rapidly expanding, but Virginia?s per capita total Medicaid expenditure is the 48th lowest out of the 50 states. Once again, local taxes make up the difference, pushing Virginia?s per capita local taxes to the 17th highest in the country. This brought us to underfunding in mental health, and the recent events at Virginia Tech are now highlighting this neglect in tragic fashion. It is something we can no longer ignore. And, finally, the environment: Ken introduced Kristen Skowronski, a student in his District, with whom he will campaign to encourage residents to replace dishwashing detergents containing phosphates with non-phosphate detergents, thus helping to clean up Chesapeake Bay. A final note: Ken will once again introduce legislation to take re-districting out of the hands of the legislature and put it to an independent non-politician committee--- it just never goes anywhere.
Delegate Plum says he has no official opponent, but he is running against Apathy, and will be helping to raise the turnout across Northern Virginia, as well as in his own District this fall. Good Luck!
Think about how what Ken Plum said about the moderate republicans in the Senate who reined in radical reactionary House republicans last Assembly, and how those moderate republicans have left office. Without that balance wheel, the radical reactionary zealots will run rampant. Unless Democrats replace them.