Conformity to recent federal income tax changes is not the only challenge (or opportunity, depending on your point of view) facing the 2019 Virginia General Assembly. It may also be asked to amend Virginia’s sales and use tax rules, so the tax can be demanded from out-of-state sellers. A recent...
Consumer confidence was higher in August than it has been since October 2000. The Conference Board’s index, which is published monthly, reflects consumers’ perception of business health, employment and income for the current month as well as six months into the future. Since it is indexed to 1985, the August...
The August 17th Wall Street Journal published an editorial describing how plaintiffs’ lawyers used junk science to persuade a California jury that a school groundskeeper was ‘exposed’ to glyphosate, and it caused his cancer. This case and loss will have a huge potential impact on agriculture, if upheld. Related: Monsanto...
(Editor’s note: transportation ideas from other states can be a help to Virginia as we try to figure out how to develop a system to lessen congestion and enhance economic growth. What is going on in Texas is interesting and instructive.) Despite a 2017 legislative prohibition on Texas DOT putting...
As the Punic Wars dragged on, Cato the Elder reportedly concluded every speech to the Roman Senate by proclaiming “Carthago delenda est” – “Carthage must be destroyed.” Ample evidence suggests that the Obama era Environmental Protection Agency’s “Endangerment Finding” was devised in violation of basic scientific and transparency principles that...
A new battle is brewing here in Virginia. Most Virginians aren’t aware of this, but we need to be because it affects our taxes, our income and the ability of our economy to grow and put more money in our pockets. The Governor recently announced that he expects $500 million...
Assuming the Virginia General Assembly conforms the state’s tax rules to the IRS code as it exists now, adopting intact the recent federal changes, the state will reap an additional $3.6 billion in revenue over the next five years. Almost $2.5 billion of that will come from personal income taxes,...
On August 9, a federal court took an extraordinary step by ordering EPA to revoke all tolerances and cancel all registrations for chlorpyrifos. This is to be done within 60 days. This happened, despite the fact that USDA says it is a mistake to conclude chlorpyrifos is unsafe. So what...
At times the popular media coverage of transportation makes me cringe. Many news outlets lack a dedicated transportation reporter, and the person whose job it is to cover the story often has little background and even less interest in transportation policy. Automated vehicles, in particular, seem to bring out some...
By Paul Driessen and David Wojick Part 1 of a 3-part series It’s obscene enough when the Multilateral anti-Development Banks do it. But Trump agencies?!? In a prime example of Deep State revanchism, despite the profound change in administrations, the US Agency for International Development is still funding and advancing...
