Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 28, 1993 TAG: 9302280101
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WARREN FISKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WILDER'S LEGACY IS WRITTEN: 4 YEARS WITHOUT TAX RISE
When the histories of Douglas Wilder's four years as governor are committed to ink, pundits no doubt will focus on his incessant feuding with fellow Democrats, his ill-fated campaign for president and his low popularity.Wilder's love of controversy and desire to be the center of attention may cloud a real and profound accomplishment by his administration.
For the fourth year in a row, the General Assembly adjourned Saturday without raising taxes. Next winter, a new governor will take over. Barring an unforeseen economic downturn, Wilder will INSIDE VIRGINIA leave office with a legacy of holding the line on taxes and reducing the size of government.
Few governors in office during the past four years of economic decline can match Wilder's record. Last year alone, nine states either raised their personal income tax rates or eliminated deductions, 10 increased corporate taxes and nine increased their sales tax.
In addition, 11 states raised gasoline taxes and seven raised tobacco taxes.
Not a single tax rate increased during Wilder's administration. The only significant expansion of Virginia's tax base came last year when the governor agreed to impose the state sales tax on alcoholic beverages.
Holding the line on taxes had a special meaning to Wilder, the nation's first black elected governor. He wanted to dispel stereotypes that he was "ultraliberal" and predictions that a black would be unable to manage the bureuacracy.
Wilder was among the first governors to see the economic downturn coming. In his maiden address to the General Assembly in 1990, he urged legislators to reduce spending and "resist the urge to enact general tax increases." His motto was "necessities before niceties."
Legislators are quick to share the credit with Wilder for holding the line on taxes. But they are not as eager to share the blame for Wilder's painful spending cuts. And many wonder whether the next governor, faced with a growing list of needs deferred by Wilder, will be left holding the bag.
Wilder eliminated a projected $2.2 billion budget shortfall in 1990. He made up about half the money with budget cuts. Among the victims were college students, who saw tuitions rise by as much as 47 percent, and state employees, who went 29 months without pay raises.
Teachers also were hurt as Wilder ended a seven-year program to bring their salaries up to the national average. Annual teacher pay was $423 below that standard when Wilder took office. Now, the gap is $2,776.
In addition, state agencies have seen their budgets cut by as much as 25 percent.
Wilder made up the other half of the shortfall by using complicated fund transfers and accounting devices. For example, he saved $269 million by merely making an assumption that investments of the state's pension fund would earn more money than previously estimated.
Wilder made up another $600 million by diverting lottery profits into the state's operating budget. The proceeds were supposed to have gone into a special fund to build state facilities.
"Fortunately, the governor has followed the traditional Virginia philosophy of cautious management," said state Sen. Joseph Gartlan, D-Fairfax, a frequent Wilder critic. "But much of it was accomplished on the backs of students, teachers and state employees. And much of it was accomplished at costs we won't be able to calculate for years."
Senate Majority Leader Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, offered a blunter assessment recently in an interview with Style magazine in Richmond:
"Wilder recognized the recession was coming," he said. "It's to his credit that he bit the bullet and made substantial budget cuts. But they were transfers, not cuts. To crawl back out of the hole will take an infusion of money to meet needs. But there is a $2.2 billion hole in the ground. You're going to have to pay the piper down the road."
It's true that the next governor will have to confront many needs Wilder deferred, including $1 billion to build new prisons. In the long run, it's possible that Wilder did little more than delay unavoidable tax increases at the expense of hurting services.
On the other hand, Wilder held the lid on spending. He reduced the size of government. He told all Virginians to make do with less. That's the discipline voters seem to demand these days. That's the message that made Bill Clinton president.
And that's something that can never be taken away from Douglas Wilder.
Warren Fiske covers state government and politics for this newspaper.