Jun
10
Whose ‘Risky Fiscal Policies’?
June 10, 2009 |
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Washington Post
The Post’s May 31 endorsement of Jody Wagner in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor stated that she “helped extricate Virginia from the risky fiscal policies of former governor Jim Gilmore.” This deserves a response.
As governor, I did not exercise “risky fiscal policies.” My administration created nearly 200,000 jobs, enhanced the technology industry and began rebuilding the Wilson Bridge and Springfield Interchange. We added 4,000 teachers and dramatically increased the budget of George Mason University. We put $1 billion into the rainy-day fund and delivered the car tax cut.
Compare that record with the performance of Govs. Mark R. Warner and Timothy M. Kaine and former Finance Secretary Wagner. In 2002, Mr. Warner and Ms. Wagner declared a $6 billion shortfall that independent journalists say never existed. Mr. Warner and Ms. Wagner later underestimated revenue and forced a $1.4 billion tax increase. Two months after this tax increase passed, they discovered no deficit but a $1.1 billion surplus. In 2007, Ms. Wagner reported a shortfall of $200 million to $400 million in the state budget. She had overestimated revenue. In 2008, revenue was overstated by $1 billion to justify more spending.
The biennial budget has ballooned from $51 billion in 2002 to $77 billion today. In October 2008, Business Week magazine listed Virginia as one of “twenty states that can’t pay for themselves.” In December, the Kaine administration projected a $2.9 billion shortfall, which became a $3.7 billion shortfall. This is the fiscal mismanagement the Post endorsement recommends.
In contrast, my administration delivered a car tax cut, with bipartisan support, that has helped millions of Virginians. But this tax cut has been a burr under the saddle of liberals for 11 years.
It’s time for liberals to put up or shut up. Why don’t they just reimpose the car tax if they truly believe it was “risky fiscal policy”?
JIM GILMORE
Richmond
The writer was governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002.
Comments
27 Comments so far
-
Property Rights
Soooooooo refreshing to hear a Republican fight back. More. MOOOOOOORE!
Right on Governor Gilmore! Virginia hasn’t been the same since you left office. Warner and Kaine have done nothing except increase state government spending, raise taxes and fees which are merely ANOTHER tax and drive Virginia into a fiscal ditch! We’ve all got to do our part to make darn sure Bob McDonnell is the next Governor of Virginia. It’s time to break the streak of liberal Democrat rule in Virginia and get our state by on the ” right ” side of the tracks!! Go Bob!!
[…] Gilmore fired back last week in a response op-ed that ran in the Post, as well as on his blog: […]
The truth only seems to upset the liberals. Good for you Mr. Gilmore…..
That letter is so good and informative that I am surprised the Post published it. We need to keep this information in front of the public during this year’s campaigns.
Getting rid of the corruption in this state would save the taxpayers a lot of money. Making the Attorney General accountable to the people, instead of having an entire staff that is devoted only to protecting elected officials and not the people, would be a good place to start.
Corruption costs the average American family appx $15,000 per year. That is money that Virginians would like to have in their pockets, not the pockets of corrupted officials.
I would like to hear your side of this issue and a solid plan by you for fighting the corruption that Virginia is famous for.
You never got a break from the liberal press.It is extremely disappointing that a wet paper bag like Marky Mark could not only win a Senate seat,but by such a wide margin.Virginia has always been a pompous FFV state,but today should be truly ashamed.I don`t think Warner could lead a Cub Scout troop to a weenie roast.It is so comforting to have him in Washington during these worst of times.
Bravo Gov Gilmore.
What appalls me about your letter is that some folks would believe what you are saying is a matter of opinion. What you state is a matter of fact.
Is there no way that charges of slander and / or defamation can not be brought against a media giant like “the washington post editorial staff” when they deliberately mislead their readers. At a minimum, they should be forced to respond to your letter with their view, and publically authenticated facts which contradict yours.
Your actions to remove the ‘car tax’ changed the flow of citizen money into state government in Virginia. How much car tax money was given up by the State, and how much money is no longer passing from each local tax office to the state treasury as a result of NO CAR TAX? This information should be public record, and published widely for the people of Virginia.
Your actions to advance George Mason and to fix the Springfield interchange and Wilson Bridge were monumentally successful.
The TRUTH will help fix political debate in America.
Thank you for making it clear.
THANK YOU GOVENOR FOR AN OUTSTANDING JOB. AS FOR THE WASH. POST WHAT MORE COULD ANYONE EXPECT. SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE.
What about the economic state of the rest of the country ? The auto industry is in enough touble, and increasing ANY spending relating to the purchase and ownership of a new vechicle would be a detriment… if anything you helped the economy by utilizing creative thinking in a manner to help, not hinder , the plight of man.. who is already overburdoned with the now laborious task of holding onto the American Dream….
Go get ‘em! That’s what I admire about you, you’re not afraid to fight back and confute the lies the Washington COMpost and other leftest tabloids throw at you.
When Mark Warner ran for U.S. Senate saying he would clean up the mess in Washington, just as he had cleaned up the mess in Virginia, I repeatedcly asked “What mess?” I never got an answer. Not only did the Gilmore administration balance the budget, but it improved schools and at the same time repealed the widely detested car tax. Balanced budget, improved schools and tax cut do not consitute a mess, to my way of thinking. If that is risky policy, we need more of it.
Another example of Liberals trying to control the media. “Common Sense Virgina.” Sheesh!
The Demorcats recently started to admit that they are wrong. Keep fighting Republicans.
Go get em Bob!
Oh and please keep a senate seat warm for Mr. Cantor.
P.S. Well said Tater.
Back during your administration, my wife, daughter and I had just moved out to our new house in Hanover County after renting for several years in Henrico County. We were “house poor”, as the saying goes, after meeting the various cost of getting a mortgage and so forth. About that time our car broke down. We HAD to get a replacement. We were so grateful that your car tax cut helped us in what was a hard time for us financially! Also, although we have always paid our taxes, there have been times when taxes have gotten OPPRESSIVE for us, preventing us from paying for NEEDED expenses due to having to pay more and more taxes! We realize that there are certain needed governmental services such as the military to defend our nation,law enforcement, fire fighters and the like. However, there are also a number of things that the goverment tries to do - very expensively - that we do NOT need for it to do that we could easily do without. For example, we could GET RID OF most of the Virginia Department of Education and ALL of the U.S. Department of Education, in my opinion, and NOT have any negative effects from doing so. Many other examples exist. Some governmental functions we do need, some we do NOT need! Taxes - federal, state and local - are still way too high! Also, in local, state and federal agencies, we usually have too many high paid administrators and not enough adequately paid line workers who actually perform service to the public. We need to “cut the flab”, get RID of a lot of the high paid administrators and either hire more line workers, where they are needed, or just get rid of the administrators and save money. We also need to hire locally and NOT be doing nationwide job searches!
I remember the phantom budget deficit. Do not forget the 11% increase in Virginia sales tax from 4.5% to 5.0% signed by Warner due to the alleged shortfall. Ask yourself, how did Virginia get along all those years with the lower sales tax rate but now a bigger piece of pie is needed? We made a mistake not electing Jim Gilmore as U.S. Senator. Webb and his fellow Democrats, and some Republicans, were wrong on their assessment of the economy and the federal role. Gilmore was right. Check his campaign speeches and debates with Webb.
I’m on your side Govenor Gilmore. We need conservative policies in Virginia & less government intervention in our private lives. The government is now telling us what to do and it should be the other way around. Our president has put my children & grand children into debt forever.
Keep up the good fight on eligibility. Was glad to hear of your support. We have to all work together to stop what is happening to our country, whatever it takes.
Was glad to hear of your support of eligibility situation. Keep up the good work, and thanks.
Thanks for all you are doing.
Well stated, Governor! Let the libs run on a platform of bringing back the car tax! I think you and your readers will find allied cover for you here, at this post: http://www.familyfoundationblog.com/?p=3082
Excellent response Jim!! As you pointed out,our biennual budget has increased an unprecedented 151% in only seven years under the fiscal policies of two successive,Post approved,( Warner and Kaine) Democratic administrations. And the only result we citizens have to show for it is closed toilet facilities on our major highways! Some intelligent fiscal policy! Additionally I admire your challange to the Liberals, if they really belive the car tax relief was “risky” let them campaign to reimpose it.
Thank goodness that you’re willing to stand up to the blur of mindless bashing that comes out of the media, especially the DC area media! More and more of this needs to get out the common people of Virginia who just might follow that same, Democratic pied piper that’s led America into the nowhere land right into Virginia. God forbid if Virginia has to live through another four years of overspending and increased taxes to meet it. We won’t need a rainy day fund; we’ll need a Noah’s flood fund.
Thanks, Jim!!
Governor Gilmore: Thank you for what you did as Governor of Virginia; and good work in hitting back at the lies that the liberals keep telling. We have to keep fighting them. I also enjoyed your speech at the convention very much!
Warmest Regards,
Jim Lyle
[…] To read the rest of the post click here. […]
Thank you Gov. Gilmore. We are still waiting for the Democrats to completely reduce the car tax from 30% to 0%, which they were supposed to do many years ago. Indeed, why not just raise it back up to 100%? They need to make up their minds one way or the other. If nothing else, eliminating it altogether would save the taxpayers and the state a lot of time and paperwork.
Perfect response, Governor! Since your car tax reduction, I’ve purchased several cars with high personal property tax assessments. (The cut hasn’t hurt Hanover County’s Government Complex, which has only GROWN its physical plant and staff.) If the liberals increase the tax, guess what I’ll be driving?
Older cars on the road only help auto part suppliers/vendors (good for Pep Boys) and increases road safety hazards (bad for insurance companies).
I say (we) Republicans introduce legislation to reduce it all together and put this issue to bed - forever.
Where are the car manufacturing, new car dealers, and insurance lobbyists?
Lunch?
Today I found out that you were appointed to the Board of Directors for CACI Inc. Since I work for CACI I naturally wanted to know a little more about you.
I think what you have said is very refreshing. This country needs leaders who will stand up and defend themselves. They cannot cower to the lies and must speak out the truth.
It’s great to have you on board at CACI…Welcome!