Without action, your taxes are going up

For the second time in three years, the General Assembly is seriously considering raising your taxes and other government fees. Most of the debate surrounds the alleged "transportation crisis" and the Governor and Senate's claim that more "investment" of your money is needed.

House and Senate proposed budgets differ on several fronts, most importantly, the Senate includes a $1 billion per year tax hike that the House does not have. Each chamber passed their respective budgets. Then, each chamber rejected the other's budget, thus placing the budget in "conference." The members of that conference committee are now debating among themselves and should propose a final budget in the next several days. Should no budget be passed by Saturday, an extended session is likely.

During his election for Governor, Tim Kaine promised not to raise taxes. Like Mark Warner, he broke that promise and in his very first year has proposed a $4 billion increase in taxes and fees. Once again, tax and spenders in the General Assembly and the Governor have threatened that they are willing to shut down state government if they don't get their way and raise our taxes.

When the General Assembly raised our taxes in 2004, there was a great deal of pressure from government employees, in particular teachers, to raise taxes and spend more on education and social services. Despite efforts of groups like The Family Foundation, there was little public opposition. This year, there seems to be less support for a tax hike, but once again the general public seems apathetic. Last week, the Speaker of the House, Bill Howell (R-28, Fredericksburg), stated that his office hadn't heard much opposition from citizens.

Much of this debate is couched in words like "revenue" and "investment" and "priorities." The real question, however, goes deeper than superficial sound bites. The real question we must ask our legislators is this: How much is enough?

Is there ever going to be a point when they don't want more and more of our money. There will always be another "crisis" or "priority." We can always build another school, hire more teachers, build more roads and offer more government services. Virginians already pay nearly one-third of their income in combined local, state and federal taxes to pay for all of these "investments."

Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be enough for many of our elected officials. But until they hear from the people of Virginia on this issue, the fact is there are going to find a way to lay more of the burden at your feet. They must hear from you today! Our General Assembly must be urged to reject higher taxes.

ACTION: Please urge your delegate and senator to pass a budget that does not raise our taxes or fees!

Finally got around to sending Sen. Watkins an email. He sent an email the other day talking about increased school and public safety spending. It's not the best letter, but I think he'll get my point.

Senator Watkins,

I do not have much time to put together a lengthy email, but I am strongly opposed to any new or increased taxes. Two years ago the legislature passed the largest tax increase in the history of the Commonwealth. In large part it was to fund schools, public safety, etc. We then found out we had an incredibly large surplus. I suppose that money went to pay "the bills in the drawer," but if we emptied that drawer today it would be full again tomorrow.

The easy way out for the legislature when a problem arises is to raise taxes. Anyone can do that. It is easy for those in Richmond to stick their hands in my pockets and take more of the money I earn. The hard work that never seems to be done is to look at the spending side of things.

Whenever higher taxes are opposed we hear cries from the tax hike supporters that we will be paving the streets with school books, hospital beds, and the list goes on. Public school spending is up inflation adjusted 73% over the last 30 years or so. What has all this spending got us? Graduation rates and SAT scores have remained the same. Perhaps we should look at other school reforms rather than simply throwing money at a perceived problem. And perhaps we should remember the words or Ronald Reagan:

"There's a lesson here that we all should write on the blackboard 100 times -- in a child's education, money can never take the place of basics like discipline, hard work, and, yes, homework."

There is no single issue that brings more Republicans to the table than the desire for limited government and lower taxes. The Republicans in the Senate seem to have forgotten that. We need to return to the ideals of smaller government, free markets, and individual liberty.

When things are tight at home I always look for ways to cut cost. Even when things are going good I still look for ways to lower my monthly expenditures. For example, my wife and I removed call waiting and caller id from our phone plan. Can we afford it? Certainly. But every dollar counts. And every dollar the government takes from my hand is a dollar I will not be spending elsewhere.

I sincerely hope you will reconsider your support for higher taxes. I doubt, however, I can change your mind. My last request is that you think of my family and all the other families in, not just the 10th district, but, Virginia as you make it harder for us to save while the Senate takes the easy way out.

Respectfully,

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.