Category: Government Finance
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Henrico’s $6 Million Surprise
When last we heard from Henrico County officials about the parlous state of the county budget, we were told that it was necessary to impose a 4% meals tax because there was no other way to balance the budget without raising taxes or gutting the school budget. Tax foes argued that the county would not…
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MBUFs and Value Capture asTransportation Financing Tools
by James A. Bacon A common challenge for every state is finding the funds to expand the transportation system to serve a growing population and economy. Virginia endured a grueling debate last year over former Governor Bob McDonnell’s proposal to shift much of the burden to the state sales tax. Other states have made a…
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Federal Transportation Funds Running Short? Try Local Innovation.
There are two ways to respond to the shrinking federal budget for transportation projects: You can whine and mewl and curse the injustice of things, or you can look for other ways to cope with the country’s transportation challenges. Smart Growth America (SGA) has chosen the latter course, publishing “The Innovative DOT: a handbook of…
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The McDonnells and Their Apologists
By Peter Galuszka It seems bizarre to balance news of the worst political corruption scandal in the state’s history and efforts by bloggers and commenters on Bacons Rebellion to dismiss it all as “everyone does it.” The apologia is getting a little too hot and heavy here. One famous blogger wanted to smack former governor…
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Journalism’s Death Is Greatly Exaggerated
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in Business and Economy, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Electoral process, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Government workers and pensions, Gun rights, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, LGBQT, Media, Money in politics, Planning, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Property rights, Public safety & health, Race and Race Relations, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & Technology, Social Services and Entitlements, Taxes, Transportation, Water-waste waterBy Peter Galuszka “Investigative reporting, R.I.P. In-depth reporting is dead. If not dead, it’s comatose. Reeling from declining revenue and eroding profit margins, print media enterprises continue to lay off staff and shrink column inches.” Err, maybe not. James A. Bacon Jr., meet Rachel Maddow. The quote comes from advertised “sponsorships” in which an outside…
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Virginia’s Fiscal Condition: Average
Virginians persist in the belief that the commonwealth is an exceptionally well managed state with lower-than-average taxes, better-than-average services and rock-solid finances, as exemplified by its AAA bond rating. But there’s more to a state’s fiscal health than its ability to repay bonds. Sarah Arnett with the Mercatus Center rates the fiscal condition of the…
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McAuliffe’s Ethics End Run
By Peter Galuszka Kudos to Terry McAuliffe. Virginia’s new governor has taken strong and important steps to force the state into much needed ethics reform by issuing an executive order setting a gift acceptance cap of $100 for himself, his staff and members of state agencies. He’s also allocating $100,000 to set up a state…
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Where the Poor Are
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in Business and Economy, Demographics, Economic development, Education (higher ed), Education (K-12), Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Health Care, Housing, Immigration, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Land use & Development, Media, Money in politics, Politics, Poverty & income gap, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Social Services and Entitlements, UncategorizedBy Peter Galuszka With expanding Medicaid about to become a major issue with the incoming Terry McAuliffe administration, it is curious to see exactly where the poor people in Virginia live. An intriguing New York Times interactive graph provides clues and allows one to draw some rather disturbing conclusions. The single worst pocket of poverty…
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No Medicaid Expansion without Reform
John M. O’Bannon III, R-Henrico, is a neurologist, and his medical practice provides care to indigent patients with little hope of paying their bills, but he is also a Republican delegate to the General Assembly. When he contemplates an expansion of Medicaid, a top priority of incoming Governor Terry McAuliffe, he is very concerned about…
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The McDonnell Track Record: Incremental Improvement
by James A. Bacon Governor Bob McDonnell’s four-year term in office is drawing to a close. Sadly, it appears that the governor will be remembered mainly for his atrocious judgment in accepting more than $150,000 in gifts and loans from a Richmond businessman. While the Giftgate scandal deservedly dominated the headlines in his last year…
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Fiscal Analytics and the Next Municipal Revolution
by James A. Bacon It is the best of times for local government, it is the worst of times. It is the worst in the sense that local governments across America are experiencing unrelieved fiscal stress from pension obligations, mounting infrastructure backlogs and lagging revenues. Yet it is the best in the sense that rarely…
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Are the Feds Going Soft on the McDonnells?
By Peter Galuszka There is something unsettling about Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, being allowed to have a possible indictment on federal criminal charges delayed after senior U.S. Justice Department officials went along with requests from their attorneys. Federal prosecutors reportedly told lawyers for the McDonnells on Dec. 9 that they planned…
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Game Changer for Medicaid Debate
by James A. Bacon The debate over Medicaid expansion took a major left turn yesterday when the McDonnell administration revealed that the VCU Medical Center and the University of Virginia Medical Center will lose about $500 million in federal funds to offset uncompensated care between 2017 and 2022. The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) will phase…
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Behind a Massey Energy Lawsuit Settlement
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in Business and Economy, Courts and law, Crime, Corrections, Law Enforcement, Disasters and Disaster Preparedness, Economic development, Energy, Environment, Federal issues, Government Finance, Infrastructure, Insurance, Labor and Workforce, Money in politics, Politics, Regulations, Gov’t Oversight, Science & TechnologyBy Peter Galuszka It might have otherwise gone unnoticed, but Bristol-based Alpha Natural Resources, one of the country’s largest coal companies, has agreed to settle a leftover securities fraud lawsuit for $265 million involving Massey Energy Co., the notorious, formerly Richmond-based firm that Alpha bought in 2011. The settlement with the Pension Reserves Investment Management…
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The Zany, Crazy Cold War Days Return
“Give me back the Berlin wall give me Stalin and St Paul I’ve seen the future, brother: it is murder.” Leonard Cohen By Peter Galuszka The other night I watched Dr. Strangelove, one of my favorite movies. Then I read the headlines. China is cracking down on U.S. journalists, especially those representing The New York…