THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 28, 1994 TAG: 9412280008
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
Let me get this straight: Gov. George Allen first holds us hostage to his no-parole plan. In order to accommodate the boost in the inmate population, he wants to build new prisons. To pay for all of this, he wants to take away funds for higher education, museums, arts, public television and radio and law enforcement. Yet, at the same time, he wants to boost the tourism advertising-and-promotion budget.
Why? So people can come from all over America to see our fine new penitentiaries?
Seems to me that when he finishes taking all of these things away, those of us left on the outside of all of these gleaming new prisons will really have not much left over to make living outside of them worthwhile.
The way I see it, we will then have two choices: Move out of Virginia, thereby lessening the tax base, or commit a crime in order to get in on the redirected flow of tax dollars.
I must admit, I was not particularly surprised by the manner in which Governor Allen constructed his new budget plan - not allowing the Democrats the opportunity to peruse it as has been customary for the past 100 years.
I pray that next November the electorate will remember that the Democrat-controlled House of Delegates and Senate in Virginia have kept this state financially sound, consistently placing Virginia at the top of the list of well-managed states.
If the Allen plan goes through, that record will surely end, and Virginia will be in the same horrific financial swamp that Uncle Sam is currently navigating.
Nonetheless, Happy New Year.
SCOTT D. HENRICHSEN
Virginia Beach, Dec. 21, 1994 by CNB