Posted on 02/25/2010 8:02:32 AM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
Virginia's new Republican governor, Bob McDonnell, has ambitious plans for his state. He wants to put young Virginians back to work, make Virginia the first East Coast state to drill offshore, and to compete with California to become the wine capital of the United States.
McDonnell made these points in his keynote address to the inaugural conference of the American Action Forum, which its Web site calls a new voice for "center-right ideas and action."
With jobs as the focus of the conference, the governor said that "the scariest unemployment statistic we face" is the hidden unemployment that is masked by Virginia's official jobless rate. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Virginia's unemployment rate in 2009 was 6.6 percent. But taking into account discouraged, marginally attached, and underemployed workers, Virginia's overall unemployment rate was 12.1 percent, or nearly double the official rate last year.
The jobs problem goes deeper than many suspect. Nationwide a record 6.3 million Americans, or 41 percent of the unemployed, have been out of work for more than six months. "How many people have just given up looking for a job, especially those in the 18-24-year-old group," McDonnell asked. Unemployment among this group "creates particular problems for state's social safety networks and for public safety...Bringing jobs to the state is the way to cut spending on crime prevention and welfare programs," he said.
Although he did not elaborate on the link between unemployment and crime, a former senior Virginia official later clarified the statement. "In the past, there was a strong link between crime and unemployment among this group," the official said. "But, more recent data show that the link is not there in this recession."
A recent report by Heather MacDonald, a contributing editor at the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, supports this view. Her report shows that although unemployment has increased by more than 7 million since the recession began, U.S. crime rates have fallen to their lowest levels in 40 years.
McDonnell -- who won a landslide victory in November -- ran on the slogan "Bob's for Jobs." Compared with other states and foreign countries, he said, Virginia has relatively few incentives to attract business. "I support providing tax credits for new businesses, creating a one-stop shop for obtaining new business permits, and reducing the turnaround time to obtain a permit."
As for offshore drilling, McDonnell hopes that Virginia will become "the energy capital" of the United States. The federal government recently lifted a ban on offshore drilling that would allow Virginia to drill in 3 million acres that might hold 130 million barrels of oil and 1.14 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The Virginia Senate on Monday passed a measure that would allocate 80 percent of future offshore royalties and revenues to transportation and the remaining 20 percent to the Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium. The centerpiece of McDonnell's gubernatorial campaign was a plan to solve Virginia's job-crushing traffic and transportation problems.
McDonnell's most ambitious plan relates to Virginia's wine industry. "We are working to make Virginia wine better than California wine," he said. Virginia ranked seventh in the United States in wine production in 2008.
Sure would be nice if all of our Governors really gave a RIP about their citizens!
Our Governor SUCKS; jobs have left Wisconsin at an alarming rate in the past 8 years. But he’s quitting, so there’s some positive news.
I don’t get the McCain endorsement but otherwise we’ve been happy to have him! Virginia wine sucks, so good luck there.
At one time I had been considering a move to southside VA...may need to revisit that idea as an alternative to TN or KY...
You haven’t had the good stuff. There are some vintages made here that rival Napa Valley as we have had quite a few winemakers relocate from CA to VA bringing their know how.
“At one time I had been considering a move to southside VA...”
...the more Freepers the better! Love to have you!
There’s some pretty good wines from the Loudoun County area.
had looked at the Chase City area...but that was quite a few years back now...the low property taxes were rather appealling...
Yes there are! And also out in Faquier & Warren Counties.
Have you ever had any wine from Breaux Vinyards?
Breaux is one of the better ones. I thought their Nebbiolo Ice was so good that I bought a bottle as a gift to a friend for her wedding which is coming up this summer.
“Breaux is one of the better ones.”
Their wines are and stack up well against some of the best I have had. Their flavors are complex and earthy. Their reds go great with beef. Try the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon the next time you have a steak or prime rib.
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