THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 6, 1994 TAG: 9412060025
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A22 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Governor Allen's bid to cut Virginians' state income taxes lengthens what already had become a litany of major first-year initiatives. Some observers have reached back almost 70 years to Harry F. Byrd Sr. for an equally activist performance.
A more apt reference point would be Mills Godwin's first term. Not only were 1966-70 historic years in substance; the Allen revolution could further undo much of that earlier revolution's good.
The basic question is: Would Virginians actually benefit from a tax decrease costing the state $1.2 billion over the next five years and more than $700 million annually thereafter?
Most people think their overall tax load is onerous and the way those dollars are spent even more so. Owing mainly to Washington's ineptness and excess, the public tends to distrust all government. But, in fact, Virginians derive much good from theirs.
The Allen tax-cut plan needs also to be judged in the context of both current and forecast revenues. Many programs have yet to recover from steps taken to eliminate a $2 billion shortfall in the recession-riddled 1990-92 budget. Mr. Allen's no-parole prisons will cost $2 billion to build and hundreds of millions annually to run. And the current budget may come up short of revenue.
So the General Assembly must insist on hard, credible evidence that the money will be there to meet Virginians' legitimate expectations. And if programs are to be pared or scrapped, lawmakers must determine the public impact.
A major victim of the spending cuts in '90 and '91 was Virginia's nationally admired higher-education system. In the '70s and '80s the colleges - Old Dominion and Norfolk State universities conspicuous among them - surged, propelled by actions dating to the '60s. Erosion of state aid now has squeezed Virginia into the bottom tier of states in public support of higher education and placed the commonwealth among the nation's highest in student tuition and fees. The imbalance hurts thousands and thousands of Virginians every year and indeed has narrowed opportunities for many others.
The first Godwin administration was remarkable in the context of today's ugly public mood because Virginians in the '60s were receptive to the state sales tax, which was slated to benefit most the commonwealth's public school systems.
Later, eight years of effort - without tax hikes for the purpose - in the Robb and Baliles administrations lifted teachers' pay in Virginia to within about $400 of the national average in 1989-90. Recessionary budget woes that followed in the Wilder years caused the commonwealth's average in 1993-94 to fall $2,800 below the U.S. figure.
Clearly, a revenue shortage already has eroded programs set in motion almost 30 years ago. Not only can the state not afford further decline; its leaders should be working to reverse it.
Another crucial test is: Would Mr. Allen offset the tax cut by reducing aid to localities, forcing them into revenue measures more burdensome and more unpopular than the current state income tax?
Lawmakers must insist on precise answers to such questions, lest Virginians find the tax cut the lesser of two goods. by CNB