THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412090282
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bill Reed
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Boondoggle alert! Be aware, at all times, of the location of your wallets.
Grandstanding politicians at various levels are preparing to dig deeper into them in the name of cutting taxes and government spending.
It's all part of the great cry across the land for a change in the direction in which the country is moving, recently elected politicos will tell you.
Using smoke and mirrors these same folks are making big plans, especially at the state and national level, to whack programs and taxes, while at the same time jacking up spending on other programs deemed crucial to the common weal - like defense and prisons.
Now, most level-headed folks want their families to be safe and secure from enemies foreign and domestic, so generally they don't mind shelling out a few more bucks to achieve those goals.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the figures offered up by the so-called cost-cutting zealots ain't adding up. How can you advocate cutting X dollars, then call for spending X-plus-a-billion-or-two for so-called needed programs? It ain't gonna happen.
Almost every one in sight is heartily in favor of cutting taxes. Seems that half of a family's monthly pay check goes down the black hole of taxation, seemingly for naught.
Almost every one in sight thinks government at every level is rife with inefficiency, duplication and indifference and prone to sticking its ugly nose in the business of private citizens without justification.
But let's get real. The idea is to cut the fat and leave the lean, not chop indiscriminately to take the lean with the fat.
A good case in point is Gov. Allen's proposed $2.1 billion tax cut, of which an estimated $300 million in savings would be achieved by ending local taxes on business receipts. The rest, presumably, would result from tossing 15,000 state employees out on the street, freezing state hiring, getting rid of some state programs and generally kicking some fiscal butt.
Since localities, such as Virginia Beach, derive much of their revenues from taxing business receipts such a ban would mean a loss of big bucks normally used to pay for essential services such as public school operations, police and fire protection, trash collection and road repairs.
In Virginia Beach, municipal bean counters estimate a possible loss of up to $20 million in revenue a year. That's a big chunk for a city already strapped for cash.
Now guess who's going to make up the shortfall, sport? That's right. It's you.
And guess where the biggest bite would come? That's right, again, sport - your home, your car, truck, van and probably the gold fillings in your teeth.
For the benefit of City Council members, City Manager James K. Spore on Tuesday, made a horseback estimate of the effect on city residents. To make up for the revenue loss, the city would have to raise the taxes on Beach real estate owners by 11-to-12-cents, he said.
Not to worry, said the governor. Within five years the state will make up for whatever revenue losses are suffered by Virginia localities as a result of the tax cutting strategy.
Right. And we believe in the tooth fairy and the golden goose, too. The same promises have been made by past administrations and law makers and we're still looking for the checks to arrive in the mail.
In five years the Guv will no longer be in office. Instead, political scuttlebutt has it, he will be making a big time bid for a vice presidential slot on the Republican national ticket, running on a record of fiscal conservatism that would be envied even by the Gipper himself.
Meanwhile, the successor in governor's office - who ever he or she may be - will take the heat for the resulting financial convulsions. And, you ask, who will wind up on the short end of the deal? Look no further, sport. It's you. by CNB