Year: 2012
-
That Danged News Media!
—
by
in Business and Economy, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Immigration, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Planning, Politics, Public safety & health, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, TransportationBy Peter Galuszka After a deluge of negative national publicity in recent weeks over a number of socially conservative and highly controversial bills that he originally endorsed, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has complained on a WTOP radio interview that he’s disappointed with the news media. “All we ever ask from the media is to…
-
It’s the Tax Rate, Stupid
A fascinating new study by the Tax Foundation and KPMG digs deeper than the usual analysis that ranks states by business tax burden. This report, “Local Matters: A Comparative Analysis on State Tax Costs on Business,” recognizes that tax rates vary depending upon the type of business. Thus, while Virginia ranks 11th best among all…
-
Second Thoughts on Charlottesville Bypass
U.S. 29 north of Charlottesville The battle over the Charlottesville Bypass still isn’t over. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) must review its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), last supplemented in May 2003, to see if it needs to be updated. Now the Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has submitted a letter listing 11 topics that…
-
IG of the Day: Virginia Poverty
Over the past 30 years, Virginia has consistently logged a lower incidence of poverty than the United States as a whole, as seen in this graphic published by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. But broad measures of poverty don’t tell the whole story. In “Poverty and the Social Safety Net: Who Are Virginia’s…
-
Enjoy 2.4% Economic Growth While You Can. It Won’t Last.
by James A. Bacon Cackling with joy now that the Gross Domestic Product is projected to grow 2.4% this year, lovers of the leviathan state see the faster pace of recovery as a vindication of the Obama administration’s activist economic policies. In truth, the current burst of growth reflects the most stimulative fiscal policy since…
-
General, Politician and Entrepreneur
by James A. Bacon President’s Day is more than a week past, not that anyone paid much attention to it anyway (except for Peter G., who penned this piece comparing the myth-making surrounding the founding fathers to the propaganda of Josef Stalin). It’s the day we commemorate the contributions of America’s two greatest presidents, George Washington…
-
This Guy Just Won’t Shut Up!
Jim Bacon talks budget, transportation and public policy wonkery on WRIR radio with Will Snyder. Click here to start the podcast. Scroll ahead to 40:00 to get to the good stuff. Bacon talks even more transportation with Norm Leahy at The Score Radio Network. Click here for the podcast.
-
Brace Yourself for the Next Transportation Revolution
Bill Ford with the new B-MAX, which supports cellular phones and portable media devices for hands-free operation. by James A. Bacon In articles in the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of Fort Motor Company, has unveiled his new vision for how automobile technology can improve traffic safety and…
-
Paging Ken Elzinga. Mr. Elzinga, Please.
by James A. Bacon Kenneth Elzinga is an institution at the University of Virginia, less renowned, perhaps, than that poobah of political punditry Larry Sabato, but no less beloved. Some 40 years ago I learned much of what I know about economics from Elzinga’s Economics 101 and 102 classes (macro economic and micro economics). He…
-
Government Benefits in a Post-Boomergeddon World
How bad will it hurt when Boomergeddon hits and the federal government goes into default/hyperinflation mode? One way to measure the economic impact is dependence upon federal government transfer payments. The New York Times has tallied up expenditures on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans payments, unemployment insurance and income support, and plotted them as a percentage…
-
The Atlantic: Virginia’s Pathetic Leadership
With proposals such as mandated ultrasounds for abortion seekers and bans on Sharia law, state legislatures avoid actual governance in favor of dead-end ideas. Virginia’s attempt to intrude (literally and figuratively) upon the privacy of its pregnant women would be bad enough if it were merely a rare example of state lawmakers unhinging proposed legislation…
-
Another Reason to Loathe Special Tax Breaks
An exemption on a 2% sales tax on a $40 million plane creates a real competitive advantage. by James A. Bacon On May 27, 2010, Governor Bob McDonnell announced that Yorktown-based Orion Air Group, “one of the world’s leading operators of business aircraft,” would invest $4 million to consolidate its operations in Newport News. The…
-
“Our Bodies; “Our Idiot Selves”
By Peter Galuszka Forty two years ago, a feminist group titled “the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective” got together to start researching their own books about female health since they distrusted what they considered the male-dominated medical establishment. A substantial part of their research had to deal with birth control since the pill had been…
-
Careful There, Fellows, You May Not Like Where Your Logic Leads You
by James A. Bacon Gov. Bob McDonnell’s PR shop has taken to touting the immediate job-and business-creating benefits of Virginia’s accelerated road building and maintenance program. The governor had better be wary about that short-term focus– he might not like where the logic leads. One recent press release touted an analysis of 10 highway projects…
-
Bob McDonnell: Natural Libertarian
by James A. Bacon It is with great trepidation that I venture into the shark-infested waters of Virginia’s culture wars, which I regard as a distraction from the pressing fiscal, economic and environmental issues facing the state. I belong in the muddled middle of the electorate that sees elements of truth in both sides of…