Vivian Page: Eliminate the PPTRA Funding ?
Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 12:59AM Vivian Page, who is beyond a doubt one of the most respected Left Leaning Bloggers in Virginia has quite the proposal on the table. Take it away Vivian:
Last time I looked, former governor Jim Gilmore’s “no car tax” plan was costing the Commonwealth $950 million. By killing this plan, either outright or over a period of a few years, that money could be used to fund transportation. Yes, this amounts to a tax increase, but only on people who own cars. Think of it as a user fee
Now, Vivian favors Governor Mark Warner for the US Senate Seat, and he is pitted against my favorite Conservative, Governor Jim Gilmore. We all know Jim Gilmore initiated the PPTRA, or eliminating the Car Tax, and by last 2001 budget had dedicated $604 million to the program.
Mark Warner campaigned in 2001 on not raising taxes at all as governor of Virginia, plus finishing the elimination of the PPTRA (car tax) altogether. During his budgets of 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, the Commonwealth's expenditures increased $5.9 billion, while the 2005 budget only dedicated $907 million to the PPTRA. This amounts to a paltry $303 million in annual additonal dedicated funds to eliminating the PPTRA, beyond Jim Gilmore's $604 million.
The following year in Tim Kaine's first budget of 2006, the General Assembly froze the PPTRA appropriations at $950 million annually, or what at that time was estimated to be a 70% elimination of the tax on the citizens. FY 2007 saw the same appropriation, so in reality, and as per Vivian's wishes; the PPTRA is actually reducing as a percentage of eliminating the overall car tax. What I hear her saying though, is she wants to dedicate some nice chunks of that PPTRA funding and dedicate it to Transportation. Not just slowly bleed the tax cut.
Fair enough Vivian... Her favored candidate Governor Mark Warner should step up to the plate and tell us exactly what he would do right now if he were Governor Kaine. Ask the General Assembly to defund the PPTRA, and put the funds towards transportation, or continue to increase funding to eliminate the PPTRA? Simple Math tells us that if $950 million is 70%, then $1.3 billion annually gets us to elimination.
Please Governor Warner, tell us how you would handle this? I am absolutely sure that AP reporter, Bob 'six billion dollar lie' Lewis is ready to pose this question to Governor Warner himself, at the upcoming US Senate debate at the Homestead in a couple weeks?
Actually, I doubt that altogether. I think that the panelists will be tossing softballs at Warner, and continuing what has become a MSM mantra that Governor Gilmore left a budget 'Mess'... You know, he cut taxes....
Vivian, I hope you press for Warner to answer your call for eliminating, or reducing the PPTRA. You're not going to let him, or Governor Kaine just walk on the issue, right?
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Reader Comments (20)
Eliminating the car tax kept more capital in the pockets of citizens - to create more capital and jobs.
The shell game of moving money from the General Fund in Richmond to the cities and counties was because the localities relied on the property tax as key revenue.
Fully funding the car tax, which Warner and the RINOs reneged on doing, would have meant less money for Richmond to spend. Oh, dear.
Consider how much the Virginia's state spending has increased since 01. For what? Can you see the difference in your life?
The Republicans should have taken up the colors and fully eliminated the property tax from the Code of Virginia. Then, they could have modified our tax law to provide a per cent of the income tax directly to cities and counties. Of course that would have meant less state spending. And that would take political courage and real leadership.
JAB:
That is why so many of them RINO'S are now gone, Potts, Chichesters, and others.... many more know their heads are on the chopping block, like Stosch for one. His amazing 300 vote win I sure was real refreshing....
My hope is that RPV has some kahunas!
I think you meant "cojones" not "kahunas."
I also think you're going to be disappointed by RPV's lack of anything resembling cojones. How else do you explain them rolling over and letting the Democrats piss all over them in the US Senate and VA-11 open seats?
You guys are hilarious.
What was the local car tax NOT spent for?
Well.. it was NOT spent on local roads.
Who do ya'll think should pay for local roads?
I'm not talking about the Interstates or the Primaries - but the roads that are primarily used by the people who live and travel locally?
Why would you have Lee Country send money to Richmond so that Richmond can give it to Franklin County for their local roads?
Would ya'll not agree that local folks should pay for their local roads?
And how should they pay?
Well of course, a local tax on cars would be so wrong as of course would be the idea that local taxes on local cars be "lockboxed" for local roads.
Somewhere in ya'll conservative politics, surely ya'll have a thought about this besides partisan blather.
Larry G, why bother? They don't stand a chance of winning the senate seat, and they're going to lose one of their house seats as well. Engaging them is like including the Libertarian and Green Party candidates in a presidential debate: it's just inviting noise from would-be contenders who haven't bothered to make themselves viable. Just enjoy their pathetic standing and gleefully kick them while they're down. It works for me.
Larry G:
The Car tax reduction and road construction seem to be two different issues to the Democrats. Correct me if I am wrong, PPTRA $ are coming from the general fund.
Democrats are dead set against using additional general fund monies for roads.... so apparently that's apples and oranges to them.
See what I mean? Jim Gilmore turned that tax refund into something related to transportation merely by targeting that high tax. He could have argued for a massive reduction in the income tax which was bringing in those excess revenues, but that just wasn't going to happen in the General Assembly.
Frankly, he was utterly brilliant to target the car tax.
Back on Transportation funding; I'd dedicate the entire 2 % tax on property and casualty premiums in Va or $600M annually to transportation... Find me a Democrat that agrees with that, and I'll start listening to your argument.
GOGFAC:
It sure would be nice to see you eating that arrogance...
Gilmore could have done this:
He could have said that local jurisdictions should be taxing locally to maintain their roads - and in fact, the tax they were collecting from cars should be used for transportation.
And then cut the State funding for local roads.
That way - he would have accomplished three very important things.
1. - he would have made a clear statement about officials at each level being good fiscal stewards of funds
2. - That a transportation "lock box" extended to ALL money collected in the name of Transportation
3. - That when local officials make land-use decisions that there IS a transportation cost that belongs to the locality that made the decision and not the State.
What Gilmore did was far worse.
He essentially told localities that the State was going to continue to be a nanny-state on Transportation and he would also continue to tax all state citizens and turn over that money to be spent by the same folks who were taking transportation taxes and not spending it on transportation needs.
Gilmore took a dysfunctional situation and screwed it up ever worse - basically by having the state take the localities off the hook for their irresponsible approach to transportation and taxation.
That.. is a VERY un-Republican thing to do.
Would you not agree?
Larry G:
Putting money in the hands of individuals in the form of a tax cut is THE Conservative approach to politics.
Now you are trying to tell me that he could get elected on a platform you are outlining above?
Even if he did, he'd have to get it through the General Assembly, where CONSERVATIVE politics meets REPUBLICAN, and Democrat/ic politics...
The 140 Santa Claus's are highly unlikely to be changing their formulas...
Governor Gilmore effectively held state spending to 6.1% over the tens year since he was in and out of office. Otherwise the General Assembly would have spent almost 10% annually.
What I mean by that is the budget has gone from $17.5 B in 1998 to $35B today. Subtract the $6B in PPTRA, and spending falls to around 6% annual.
Gilmore is the only Governor who can claim that he was actually able to restrain spending, after he left office, by forcing the General Assembly, and future Governrors to fund an actual tax cut to the citizens.
That is why GOGFAC has got his panties all in a knot.
I don't think having the State pay the localities for the car tax is a small government idea.
It's making the state responsible for something that should have been done at the local level.
Now.. we have localities saying that it is the State's "responsibility" to build and maintain local roads - only one of four states that do business this way instead of holding localities responsible and accountable for local government business.
Gilmore essentially told citizens that the State "would take care of it".
He empowered big government.
He set up a situation were both citizens and localities fully expected the State to be responsible for local transportation issues.
wrong direction for local accountability and fiscal responsibility IMHO.
it empowered the future Governors to go to the citizens and say that the "State" needed to do "something" about transportation.
Even JLARC said that the State's Responsibility should be limited to the Interstates and Primary Roads and other roads of Statewide Importance and that localities should be responsible for local roads.
With Virginia's own version of CBO saying this, it should have been easy for any fiscal conservative to lead in this direction - most of all the Gov.
Just out of curiosity - what is Gilmore's position on the Federal Gas Tax?
Does he think it should stay or go?
Larry G:
JLARC said that when? What year? Please provide a reference.
Federal Gas Tax? Gilmore's position in what way do you mean it should be abolished or kept?
STD, who needs to get their panties in a knot? You'll need Macaca on steroids to stop the Warner express from steamrolling Jim "33% of the electorate supports me" Gilmoron. You just don't have a chance. Sorry, dude.
Here are the two JLARC Reports on Transportation:
Adequacy and Management of VDOT's Highway Maintenance Program (January 2002)
Equity and Efficiency of Highway Construction and Transit Funding (December 2001)
Several recommendations were made. They are what I would consider fiscally conservative ideas - i.e. ways and means to increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of Transportation in Va.
Worthy of being used by leaders as "ideas" that do not require tax increases and, more likely would stretch the existing dollars to get more with less.
As far as I can tell - not much said by Gilmore nor his brethren on these ideas.
re: Fed Gas Tax
What is Mr. Gilmore's position of whether or not the Fed Gax Tax should be continued or repeal it and let the States take care of taxation for State roads.
Why should citizens in Va pay a Federal Gas Tax to send to Washington, who then turns around and sends it back - with strings attached?
Why not have Virginia decide how much gas tax to charge and what roads to spend it on?
Larry G:
Gilmore's last budget was 2001, and obviously Warner was elected Gov in November, 2001.
Shouldn't you be looking at four years of Mark Warner to address those studies? BTW, Thank You for providing he info, and informed debate!
I don't have a problem reevaluating the entire system, where the Homebuilding industry - land use issues need to be brought into play with a better solution. I am open to any reforms....
But I will re-emphasize that Gov. Gilmore was looking to provide tax relief, while dealing with a hostile General Assembly full of 140 Santa Clauses...
On the Federal Gas Tax... Va only get like $.92 cents on the dollar paid... now that may sound unfair to our tax payers, but my supposition is that since Va is such a beneficiary of defense dollars... i.e. aircraft carriers, major military bases, that this has been the concession our legislators have made..... again, that is what I surmise.
The Feds used the gas tax to raise the drinking age from 18 to 21.. very unfair to current active duty personnel who can be trusted to defend the nation, but not drink a beer when they come home legally?
GOGFAC:
We'll see... the campaign hasn't even seen it's first debate.
LOL...you actually think the debates will have any effect on the race. That's so cute.
GOGFAC:
Readers see that you won't engage into the actual issues here, because you can not refute the facts. You sound like waldo, as he refuses anything that is not printed in the MSM to not be a fact.
The same will come out in the debate. Gilmore will nail Warner with the facts, and Warner will smile and pray the press covers his ass yet again.
Facts are a stubborn thing.
STD, there's no need for me to engage you on the issues until your side seriously contests this race. As evidenced by the candidate you selected, the Republican Party has clearly opted to take a pass. Jim Gilmore will need a series of events even more beneficial and incredible than those that helped Sen. Webb win his senate seat, and that's simply too unlikely to bet on. Your candidate sucks, your party sucks, and the voters' reaction to both are proof positive of that. So rather than bother indulging you in your fallacy of Gilmore's good governance, I choose to just piss in your face.
GOGFAC:
You mean to say that you cower like waldo, and hope that the MSM will provide enough cover to get Warner thru this November.
STD, I don't begrudge you that belief. At the end of the day, you get to be bitter about liberals and the media, and I get to know that my guy is taking the Senate seat. I'm perfectly content to have the arrangement in future contests.
Do you really think your arrogance is becoming?
Becoming? Why would I care? This isn't exactly the spot where "hearts and minds" are changed, and even if it was, you stand virtually no chance of changing enough of those minds to even come close in November.