The Taxpayer Relief Fund to be created with the residual dollars from the 2019 state tax legislation on conformity has not seen the first dollar deposited and Governor Ralph Northam is already proposing to spend some of it, seeking to expand to 150,000 more Virginians the refund payments given in...
Conservatives have always been skeptical about building massive government-run preschool programs. They frequently cite the cost, or the fact that some studies show the effects of pre-k programs fade or disappear over time. Liberals, meanwhile, are customarily critical of anything that smacks of “school choice,” usually arguing that the answer...
Just prior to yesterday’s Veto Session, Governor Ralph Northam was pitching another plan to raise money for improvements to the Interstate 81 corridor: (1) Increase the statewide diesel tax to pay for transportation projects across the state, and (2) impose a regular gas and diesel tax along the I-81 corridor...
(Editor’s Note: The Cristo Rey school set to open in September will provide a new opportunities for at risk students … not only in education but in preparation for life. Not only is the school partnering with a large number of Richmond businesses, but a large number – if not...
How many shake their heads every time they listen to the news? If you are like me, you wonder what in the world is going on in our society today. It seems everything has become so politically partisan. When it comes to opinions Republicans are phobic and racist, Democrats are...
Wealth taxes are all the rage now in national discussions, with Democrats usually getting battered for proposing one. But as final versions of the income tax bill moved around the 2019 General Assembly, Democrats slipped in a provision to cap the amount of deductions wealthiest taxpayers can claim, raising their...
(Editor’s Note: As Virginia increasingly turns to toll lanes to improve major transportation arteries, pushback has come from both the political right and left. Virginia is not alone in this, and here Mr. Feigenbaum reviews those critiques … and answers them.) The rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders shows...
Networks of variably priced express toll lanes (ETLs) are being developed in more than a dozen large metro areas, and their impact is starting to be reflected in the congestion figures for those regions. Before reviewing what is going on, I want to call your attention to a new (not...
In Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s semiannual monetary report to Congress last month, he said he was encouraged by the “solid” increase in the labor force participation rate over the past year. This rate represents the percentage of Americans 16 and older who are working or looking for work. Individuals...
The Virginia General Assembly partially reversed one tax hike that was coming towards Virginia taxpayers. But three other tax increases are all on track, and they will likely cost citizens and businesses $1 billion per year.
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