No
Regional Government!
If
you like the idea of taxation without
representation... if you enjoy people enriching
their
cronies without public oversight... you'll love
the idea of regional government.
The
problem with regional governments in Virginia is
the combination of legislative, executive and
judicial powers in one group of unelected and
unaccountable politicians and bureaucrats. It’s
Taxation without Representation. It’s an open
invitation to corruption, even if it’s the
genteel Virginia Old Boy’s Club way of getting
rich off government.
The
voters smell it, hate it and reject it.
Politicians, especially Republicans more dedicated
to power than principle, keep shoving it back in
Virginians’ faces. Republicans are going to try
to make Virginia swallow Regional Governments in
the Sep 27th, 2006 Special Session of the General
Assembly.
Look
at the Hampton Roads Regional Government proposals
for example.
A
Regional Transportation Authority would be “created
as a body politic and as a political subdivision
of the Commonwealth.” That's a Regional
Government.
Regional
Government would an unelected government. It would
be a government of appointed officials elected
separately to different public offices. No person
would run for office as a representative to
Regional Government. No one would face the voters
as the Regional Government potentate. It would be
contrary to our Virginia way, in which city
councils, county supervisors, the General Assembly
and the Governor are the only ones who can raise
taxes – and they all face our votes.
With
regional government, the powers of government
would centralized in one government branch. No
divided powers, no separate and balanced powers.
No checks and balances. Regional government would
reverse the genius of James Madison’s U.S.
Constitution and all the Virginia Constitutions.
A
Regional Government would have the taxing
authority of the legislature for taxes, fees and
“other charges imposed under the law” and to
establish bylaws.
A
Regional Government would have the administrative
and management authority of the executive to make
‘all rules and regulations’, to make contracts
and manage the operations.
A
Regional Government would have the judicial power
to resolve disputes and there would be NO
reviewing authority for policy and decisions.
None
of this is needed to fix transportation
problems. Any member of the General
Assembly could introduce a bill, say for the Third
Crossing of Hampton Roads, and include adequate
funding – tolls, revenue sharing from the
General Fund, dedicated resources from the
Transportation Trust Fund, etc. – and let VDOT
manage the project. VDOT is accountable to the
Governor and the General Assembly.
Or,
if a delegate distrusts VDOT’s management, he
could create an authority like the Bridge and
Tunnel authority proposed by Del. Waldrup to
collect revenue and build projects. Except,
Waldrup doesn’t say what projects to build and
he, like all the others, includes this killer
paragraph:
“To
the extent funds are made available to the
Authority to do so, to employ employees, agents,
advisors, and consultants, including WITHOUT
LIMITATION, attorneys, financial advisors,
engineers, and technical advisors, and, the
provision of any other law to the contrary
notwithstanding, to determine their duties and
compensation.”
The
politicians and bureaucrats of the Regional
Government would get the power to do as they
please with billions of dollars of free money. The
books might be checked by an accounting firm, but
no one would have a check and balance on the
decisions made. No one would review who gets the
fat new contracts ‘without limitation’.
(If
this passes, make me a member of the Regional
Government! My family and friends will be set for
life. No problem getting bank loans, special
deals for cars, office supplies, jobs, etc.
because of the billions in money handed out to ‘right’
contractors.)
Politicians
would get paid for serving on the new Regional
Government, plus they a per diem for working where
they live. Good deal if you can get it.
Consider
that the Jones, Oder, Iaquinto, Suit bill proposes
building the same projects the voters rejected 2:1
in ’02. The analysis of these projects (by the
proponents themselves!) concluded that there would
be MORE congested miles in Hampton Roads after 20
years of construction (and construction delays)
than before. But there is no accountability, no
review, no appeal for such "stuck on
stupid" decisions.
And,
given the wit of local politicians like members of
the Hampton City Council, who paid about $7,000
per chair for their new chairs and settled a $5
million suit for improperly firing the city
manager, there would be more costly disasters -
and no recourse.
If
a Regional Authority is needed to efficiently
manage the collection of tolls and the maintenance
of facilities, OK, but don’t make it a
government. Don’t give it the taxing authority.
Don’t give it the legislative authority to
decide what projects to do. Don’t give it the
executive authority to spend money to build a new
layer of government bureaucrats and fat
contractors. Don’t give it judicial authority to
rule itself and be free from accountability.
Politicians
are hungry for Regional Government because it
brings them unchecked power. Bureaucrats in dead
end jobs get a new level of government that pays
higher salaries. Friends and campaign contributors
get billions from unelected and unaccountable
government of appointed politicians. The taxpayers
just get hosed.
--
September 25, 2006
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