February 6, 2006
This week I have heard radio commercials about the state budget and how listeners should be alarmed about its growth. The ads encourage listeners to call their legislators and tell them to oppose tax increases for transportation.
While it is great to have more citizens involved in the debate, I believe that it is important that people be told the whole truth - not just the part that makes their side of the argument. For you, the citizens of Virginia who truly love and care about our state, it is important to better understand the issues that we face -- issues that might not be heard or seen in brief commercials.
Would you say it is a bad thing that there are now more Virginians than ever attending college in Virginia or that it is a bad thing that the federal government is sending more money to our state to help defend those communities that are most likely to be attacked by terrorists? Most people would answer no to both; however private household money that goes to our public colleges and federal money that flows to the state for any number of projects must be accounted for in the state's budgeting process.
The radio spot says "the state budget has doubled in the last ten years." This is a true statement. But should we refuse federal money that comes to Virginia to help with healthcare, to fight terrorism, to help build roads?
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Should we not keep violent criminals locked up? Should we not educate our young people? Would we be better off if we let our roads crumble? Do we want our families at risk because we have no Sheriff's deputies available? Again, most people would say that these are important functions of government and they want these services even if it costs a little more.
Currently, Virginia is one of the fastest growing states in the country. Most of that growth has been in the suburbs of Washington with the high tech industries in the area. Those that move to a new area for employment are usually younger couples often with school age children. Every time a family with young children arrives it requires the state to add thousands and thousands of dollars to the education budget. I doubt many people would want us to discourage businesses from opening or expanding because we do not want to have more young people to educate.
I could continue, however, I think that you understand some of the things we must consider when negotiating Virginia's budget. This does not mean that I am any less committed to my deeply held belief that families can and usually do make better choices of how to spend the money they earn than the government. However, it's not as simple as thirty-second commercials.
As always, I welcome your input and hope you will feel free to contact my office whenever there are issues of concern to you or you need my assistance in dealing with state government. You can reach me by e-mail at district15@sov.state.va.us, by telephone at 804-698-7515 or by mail at P.O. Box 396, Richmond,