Is the House a workable compromise? Probably yes. Will it solve our long-term problems. It probably won\u2019t even solve our short-term problems.<\/p>\n
Some have called the 17 GOP delegates who\u2019ve supported HB 5018 as courageous and mavericks. The only true maverick in the bunch is Del. Jim Dillard (Fairfax). From the get-go, he\u2019s advocated higher taxes for core needs. Others are to be respected for their work, Preston Bryant (Lynchburg) for crafting the compromise and Phil Hamilton (Newport News) for some creative thinking. <\/p>\n
But the rest are simply responding to the wrath of their constituents. And I don\u2019t see Del. Joe May<\/a> (R-Leesburg) among them.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the Hampton Roads Daily Press Editorial page<\/a> thinks: <\/p>\n Mavericks? At what point did fulfilling legislative responsibility – which entails reaching agreement on the budget between the two legislative chambers – justify characterization as a “maverick?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s taken hundreds upon hundreds of mad-as-hell citizens at town hall meetings to move most of the 17 off the anti-tax dime.<\/p>\n As the Roanoke Times put it<\/a>: <\/p>\n Excuse us, but when shouldn’t conscience constitute a higher priority for a self-respecting lawmaker than caucus loyalty?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Kerry Dougherty of the Virginian Pilot says<\/a> the Assembly has done nothing meaningful this session. <\/p>\n The Easter weekend recess is designed to garner support for HB 5018 as the end of the discussion and to position the House as the ultimate winners, as the Staunton News Leader suggests<\/a>: <\/p>\n The House’s hand-off to the governor smells like more buck-passing to us. It sets up a scenario whereby if the House and Senate cannot achieve consensus, it is the governor’s fault for not giving the House compromise a ringing endorsement. If, on the other hand, the governor was to give the measure the thumbs up, the delegates could take the political heat off themselves and blame the governor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n As House Finance Chairman Harry Parrish (R-Manassas) said<\/a>, HB 5018 won\u2019t solve the long-term, fundamental problems in Virginia\u2019s budget. And it doesn\u2019t adequately address tax reform. The folks making $2 million a year will still pay the same rate as those making $20,000.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, localities make up<\/a> the difference. And tuitions continue to rise<\/a>. Adding insult to injury the General Assembly is demanding tuitions go up:<\/p>\n Last year, [Virginia State U]niversity had the third lowest combined tuition and mandatory fees for undergraduates among all 15 of the state’s public institutions of higher learning. Its in-state undergraduate and graduate tuition rate was the lowest in the Commonwealth. The General Assembly has therefore directed VSU to increase its rates, according to a report provided to the Board of Visitors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Meanwhile, we\u2019re still paying the price<\/a> of former Gov. George Allen\u2019s \u201cno-parole\u201d edict.<\/p>\n While some localities tax-base shrink<\/a>, the \u201ccompromise\u201d compromises<\/a> their ability to grow. <\/p>\n And the no-taxers beg credulity<\/a>: <\/p>\n “I sent out a mailer to my area to see what they wanted me to do. Fifty-to-one said not to raise taxes but to cut spending.” God bless the fearless Democrat<\/a>: <\/p>\n “The problem with Democrats … it depends on your perception. Some people say they have no ideas. Others say they have 100 ideas. Either way, the party is sinking in the quicksand, and they will never be able to represent the people if they don’t stand up and say, ‘This is who we are. This is what we are.’<\/p>\n “\u2019It says a lot about the state of the Democratic Party in the Sixth District that you can make a two-minute speech and get asked if you want to run for Congress.\u2019” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n A journalistic note: Having written columns myself, I\u2019ve sometimes cringed when I see the headline the papers put on them. I don\u2019t know what to think of this one<\/a>. If being responsible means you\u2019re this, then count me in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Is the House a workable compromise? Probably yes. Will it solve our long-term problems. It probably won\u2019t even solve our short-term problems. Some have called the 17 GOP delegates who\u2019ve supported HB 5018 as courageous and mavericks. The only true maverick in the bunch is Del. Jim Dillard (Fairfax). From the get-go, he\u2019s advocated higher… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/griendling.com\/wordpress1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n–Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City (\u201cThe evil twin\u201d; the other one is \u201cthe other evil twin\u201d)\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n