Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 19, 1993 TAG: 9310280355
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WALT BARBEE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When legislators vote to allow a local income tax to be added to existing state and federal income taxes, your family will bear a heavier tax burden when the local tax bill comes. When legislators vote to change the Virginia Constitution so that, in the future, they can increase Virginia's debt without voter approval, they are voting to increase your future taxes without your say- so.
These are family-impact issues.
Taxes (federal, state, local) were only about 12 percent of family income after World War II. Today, taxes have increased to almost 40 percent of median two-wage-earner family income (source: Tax Foundation). That's before you factor in looming new state taxes and Clinton's new gasoline, income and health-care taxes.
Taxes are now the largest part of the average family's expenses. If families could keep more of what they earn, more moms who'd like to stay home to raise their children could do so. It makes a big difference whether you get to keep 88 percent of your income, or only 60 percent, for your family to live on. That's why any bill that raises taxes is of concern to hard-working families.
Does allowing citizens to elect school boards impact the family? You bet. Most parents have a strong interest in the education of their children. Policy -making boards that answer to parents and taxpayers are more likely to listen to their input.
Likewise, giving school boards the power to levy taxes directly affects families - in their pocketbooks. Why after all these years do school boards suddenly need the power to tax? Will localities relinquish half their taxing power to school boards?
Control over curriculum, discipline, standards and how education dollars are spent - what most parents want - does not require being able to levy new taxes. Whether it's a good or bad idea, giving a fourth level of government the power to reach into your pocketbook means total taxes paid by families will increase. The Report Card review panel didn't think that was very family-friendly.
The eight-page Report Card grades as ``family-friendly'' or ``family- unfriendly'' legislators' votes on taxes, education, government, school boards, family/parents rights, abortion, drugs, health/HIV, religious freedom and more; some 40 bills and nearly 2,000 votes in all. Thousands of Report Card readers have already confirmed these are important issues that impact their families, and they want to know the score.
Sixty of the 140 state legislators scored passing grades (60 or above). Southwest Virginia legislators who scored 70 or above include Dels. Johnson (70), Bennett (71), Morgan (71), Armstrong (75), Crouch (80), Newman (91), Baker (91), Agee (93), Wilkins (94), and Sens. Wampler (76), Bell (86), Goode (88), Trumbo (89) and Hawkins (100). Area legislators scoring below 30 include Dels. Abbitt (25), Jackson (21), Stump (18), Munford (11), Cranwell (7), Quillen (0), and Sens. Schewel (17), Marye (16) and Reasor (13).
Any way you look at it, with voting patterns ranging from 100 to 0 on the same set of bills, there's obviously a vast difference in the philosophies of many legislators on the role of government in our lives. Whether you agree with the grading criteria or not, we believe the more citizens know about how their legislators vote, the better off we'll all be.
\ Walt Barbee is president of the Virginia Family Council and The Family Foundation with offices in Springfield and Richmond.
by CNB