Author: James A. Bacon
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How Fiscally Conservative Is McDonnell, Really?
Does Governor Bob McDonnell deserve his reputation as a fiscal conservative? The libertarian-leaning Cato Institute is dubious. McDonnell “hasn’t taken any major actions to shrink the Virginia government,” writes Chris Edwards, author of “Fiscal Report Card on America’s Governors 2012.” Indeed McDonnell and Virginia rated a “C” for fiscal policy, as measured by seven indicators…
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Hampton Roads More Broadly Affluent than NYC?
Dr. James V. Koch, a professor of economics and former president of Old Dominion University, is back in the news yet again, this time for making the seemingly outrageous observation that Hampton Roads is more affluent than New York City. A few years ago, when he first discovered Hampton Roads’ relative affluence compared with New…
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The Bicycle Movement Builds Momentum
Cyclists flexed their muscles — quadruceps and gluts, mostly — as almost 1,000 of them took part Saturday in the “Martin’s Tour” in the Richmond region, a set of 29-, 59- and 102-mile rides around the metropolitan region. (The Times-Dispatch has the story here.) The event, organized by Richmond Sports Backers and sponsored by Martin’s…
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Holy, Moly! Private-Sector Passenger Rail in Va.?
While the McDonnell administration seeks funding to extend Amtrak passenger service in Virginia, Hampton Roads planners are pushing European-style high-speed rail from Norfolk to Richmond and Washington — financed largely by the private sector. by James A. Bacon There’s an inherent difficulty in getting High Speed Rail to Virginia. Amtrak leases its rail lines from…
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IG of the Day: Walking Communities
Governing magazine has just published an interactive map showing which United States metros have the highest percentage of workers who walk to work. No surprise, the leaders in Virginia are small metros with large student populations — Charlottesville, Blacksburg and Harrisonburg. The graphics are somewhat deceptive, however. The size of the dot appears to bear…
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Brown Blasts LaHood over Fed Role in Rail-to-Dulles
Robert Clarke Brown, an outgoing board member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, unloaded with both barrels today in a letter addressed to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The recent fixation on MWAA’s governance issues, he charged, was a distraction from far more important issues — the minimal contributions to the Rail-to-Dulles project by the…
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Boomergeddon Watch: The Ring of Fire
Bill Gross, the head of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond manager, has published a jeremiad that makes my “Boomergeddon” thesis look Pollyanna-ish by comparison. To avoid an economic meltdown, says the money mogul, the United States needs to close its fiscal gap by $1.6 trillion, equivalent to 11% of the GDP. In my book, I…
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Step Aside, Gutenberg
“Higher education is at a crossroads not seen since the introduction of the printing press.” So begins an op-ed written by L. Rafael Reif in the Wall Street Journal today. “Just as edX, Coursera, Udacity and other online-learning platforms are beginning to offer the teaching of great universities at low or no cost, residential education’s…
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Learning the Proper Lesson from International Walk to School Day
by James A. Bacon Some 114 schools across Virginia have registered for International Walk to School Day with the goal of encouraging children to build awareness of walking as an alternative to the automobile for getting to school. One of the participating schools is Robious Elementary School in Chesterfield County where parents won funding for…
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D.C. Council Passes MWAA Reform
The Washington, D.C., City Council has adopted changes to the bi-state compact governing the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority that allow for Virginia to seat two new members, while Maryland and D.C. get to appoint one new member each. The legislation must be signed by Washington Mayor Vincent Gray to become law. Gov. Bob McDonnell, who…
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Taxpayers against the Bypass
In a new report, “Sliding Past Sequestration,” Taxpayers for Common Sense have outlined a program to cut $2 trillion in federal spending over the next 10 years without touching entitlements. Among the many ideas are proposals to delete low Return on Investment transportation projects. Along with the likes of the Upper Mississippi River Navigation Locks…
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Koching up a New Test of Online Learning
Speaking of James V. Koch (see previous post), the former Old Dominion University president-turned-economics professor has posted on his website a research paper he is publishing about the efficacy of online learning. Many studies have found “no significant difference” between students learning online and in bricks-and-mortar environments, Koch says. But the finding of those studies…
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Virginia’s Economy Still Precarious
Two sets of data reaffirming the extent to which Virginia’s two largest metropolitan regions remain dependent upon federal spending, especially military spending… While the Hampton Roads economy is outperforming the national economy at the moment, the future remains “murky,” according to Old Dominion University’s 13th annual State of the Region report. “We’re doing better than…
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Contesting the CON con
If anyone is laboring under the delusion that Virginia is a state that favors private-sector competition and innovation, they need look no further than its Certificate of Public Need (CON) law to see how, in the health care field at least, we can stifle entrepreneurial activity just like the blue states. The experience of Dr.…
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Message to VCU: Not Good Enough
In apparent deference to Governor Bob McDonnell, the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors has revised its six-year plan to assume tuition increases averaging 5.5% annually rather than 12.1% per year in the plan approved last September. The decision will diminish the increase in funding to hire new faculty and staff to $18.1 million from…