In the introduction to his budget statement released yesterday, Governor Ralph Northam described his proposed 2020-22 budget as “the most progressive in Virginia’s history. If by “progressive” he means “leftist,” with a strong propensity for taxing, spending and wealth redistribution, it’s hard to argue with him. That’s exactly what it...
The issue of whether a Clean Water Act permit is needed when a pollutant originates from a point source and reaches a navigable water of the United States by virtue of groundwater, a non-point source, was argued Nov. 6, 2019, in the U.S. Supreme Court. The case is the County of...
The U.S. budget deficit reached $984 billion in 2019. That’s 4.6% of gross domestic product. Such a large deficit should cause interest rates to rise, according to traditional economic theory, because government debt “crowds out” private sector debt. Since there is a limited supply of money, the price of borrowing...
With the 2020 presidential campaign ramping up, many of the Democratic candidates have released policy positions for primary voters. Transportation, which is not considered sexy, has received little attention thus far. One exception is former Vice President Joe Biden, who released an infrastructure plan in mid-November. Unfortunately, his current transportation...
The proposed Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) — a new “Carbon Car Tax” would be bad for Virginia, according to a new analysis by the Thomas Jefferson Institute. Starting at 10 cents extra per gallon of gas (and rising in future years), the tax would reduce money set aside for...
Sometimes you have to start the victory lap, even if you only get halfway around the track. A year ago, the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy was beating the drum for a proposal to double the state’s standard deduction, the amount of family income exempt from income tax. It...
Virginia taxpayers will save almost $600 million over two years as a result of the increase in the state standard deduction, a step proposed last year by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. That is a fresh estimate released November 21 as the Senate Finance Committee heard an after-action...
It doesn’t make sense to ban jobs that pay a living wage, just because an employer can’t afford to pay a still higher wage. But that is what a $15 minimum wage does in regions where living costs and wages are low. There are cheap regions to live in where...
As of today, using toll finance to rebuild part or all of a state’s Interstate highways is under discussion in 14 states that I know of. In some states, these discussions are bipartisan, but in other states, some conservative legislators have become outspoken opponents of tolling. Current examples include Connecticut...
A 72-year-old judge, Christina A. Snyder, appointed by President Clinton in 1997, handed the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) , U.S. agriculture,l and the Constitution of the United States a stunning legal defeat at a November 18, 2019 court hearing in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California...
