Author: James A. Bacon
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The Back Story on the Transurban “Relocation”
by James A. Bacon The governor’s office issued a press release yesterday touting the fact that Transurban, operator of the 495 Express Lanes and 95 Express Lanes, has relocated its U.S. headquarters from New York City to Fairfax County. The two express lane projects have been highly beneficial to Virginia, said McDonnell, supporting 16,000 jobs,…
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Richmond’s $11.25 Million Investment in Gateway Plaza Seems Justified
by James A. Bacon Richmond City Council has approved $11.25 million in general obligation bonds to build a public parking garage for the proposed Gateway Plaza, a $110 million office tower in downtown Richmond. I’m often skeptical of municipal “incentives” to stimulate “economic development” projects, but I think this undertaking will withstand scrutiny. Chicago-based Clayco…
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Higher Speed Limit Could Give Express Lanes a Lift
by James A. Bacon 495 Express Lanes has increased the speed limit on the I-495 express lanes in Northern Virginia from 55 miles per hour to 65, giving riders a significant new time-saving inducement to use the tolled lanes. The change took effect after the Virginia Department of Transportation released a study confirming that raising…
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Norfolk’s Cruise-Line Gamble Could Turn up Snake Eyes
by James A. Bacon Norfolk city officials are worried that Carnival Cruise Lines, the only cruise line serving Hampton Roads, may not schedule any departures from the port in 2014. The Miami-based company confirmed that it is reviewing the 2014 deployment of several ships, including the Carnival Glory, the only ship with scheduled sailings from…
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Automobiles, Import Substitution and Regional Development
The theory of economic development known as “import substitution” argues that substituting locally produced goods and services for those purchased from the outside (whether outside the country, outside the state or outside the metropolitan region) stimulates growth of the local economy. For example, burning American-produced natural gas in buses instead of diesel fuel refined from…
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Best State for Business? Tell It to Tesla!
Tesla Motors, manufacturer of the premier-priced Tesla electric car, has opened a gallery at Tysons Corner. Too bad would-be buyers can’t actually purchase a car there. It turns out that Virginia law prohibits car manufacturers from operating their own dealerships. Writes the Washington Post: “The California-based company is using the Tysons Corner location as a…
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Breadwinner Moms and Income Inequality
by James A. Bacon The Pew Research Center made a big splash in May with research showing that mothers are the sole or primary source of family income for two out of five American families. The Pew study, based upon an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data, yielded important insights into the dynamics of wealth…
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More Evidence for Peak Car
The number of cars, vans, SUVs and light trucks on the road in the United States peaked in 2008 at 236.4 million, dipping as low as 230 million in the aftermath of the recession. That number will likely be surpassed as the population continues to grow, says Michael Sivak, in “Has Motorization in the U.S.…
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The Smart Parking Revolution Gains Momentum
by James A. Bacon No one likes paying for parking, but the prospect of parting with a buck or two is nothing compared to the hassle of rummaging through your pockets, in your glove compartment or under the floor mats for stray coins. The only thing worse is worrying about your time expiring, dashing outside…
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A Flawed Case Against Cutting Virginia’s Corporate Income Tax
by James A. Bacon The Commonwealth Institute has criticized Commonwealth Attorney Ken Cuccinelli’s proposal to stimulate economic development by cutting the corporate tax rate from 6% to 4%. The corporate income tax generated $860 million in General Fund revenue in 2012, equivalent to what the state spends on law enforcement, states CI in a new…
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McDonnell’s Baloney Sandwich
by James A. Bacon Do they really believe this stuff, or do they just think we’re too stupid to see through it? Here’s what Governor Bob McDonnell had to say in a press release issued yesterday to tout Virginia’s updated Six-Year Improvement Program for transportation spending: Each dollar invested in transportation yields significant benefits, sustaining…
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Six-Year Improvement Program: a Blueprint for Failure
by James A. Bacon With the adoption of the new Six-Year Improvement Program, the details of Governor Bob McDonnell’s transportation priorities plan are coming into clearer focus. There are some worthy elements to the plan but glaring deficiencies guarantee that Virginia will see minimal benefit from the billions of dollars dedicated to new construction. On…
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CTB Authorizes New Transportation Spending Plan
by James A. Bacon With no debate over spending priorities, the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) affixed its stamp Wednesday to the Six-Year Improvement Plan submitted by the McDonnell administration. Drawing upon a revenue influx from the transportation tax package passed earlier this year, the commonwealth will increase spending on rail and highway projects from $11.4…
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The South Has Risen
For a Californian, Joel Kotkin sure sounds like a Southern triumphalist. One hundred and fifty years after its defeats at Vicksburg and Gettysburg, he writes in “As the North Rests on Its Laurels, the South Is Rising Fast,” the region is on the move. While Northerners stereotype the South as the home of the ignorant,…
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Bad Bridges
by James A. Bacon Virginia supposedly prioritizes road and highway maintenance over new construction but the condition of the state’s bridges doesn’t appear to reflect it. According to a new report by Transportation for America, 9.1% of the bridges in the Old Dominion were rated “structurally deficient” in 2013. That wasn’t as bad as the…