From the ‘50s to the mid-‘70s, the Republican Party was known as “the stupid party” – locked in the past, making foolish decisions, promoting unwise and counterproductive policies. Today, in Virginia, “the stupid party” has returned. But it is no longer Republican. The current battle over Virginia’s budget and the prospects...
Virginia is one of only two states that hold their major legislative elections this odd-numbered year, with the other being New Jersey. In New Jersey, the state’s offshore wind aspirations have become a major political issue, with even Democrats now starting to question the wisdom of the plan. The Democrats control...
The latest preliminary figures from the Virginia Department of Revenue put the current general fund budget surplus at more than $5.1 billion for fiscal year 2023, which ended June 30. This is more than double the $1.94 billion surplus the commonwealth posted in 2022. This huge surplus is money left over after every single...
With growing turmoil in the offshore wind industry finally being reported, it would be nice to turn the clock back a year and revisit the State Corporation Commission’s failed 2022 effort to impose a real performance standard on Dominion Energy Virginia’s $10 billion, 176-turbine project. No such luck, Virginia. While two projects...
Not only are the leading Virginia Senate budget negotiators adamantly opposed to providing Virginians with additional tax relief in this election year, but they are now hinting at partial roll back of one of the major individual tax reforms approved just last year. When the 2022 General Assembly approved a...
The following paragraph was written five months ago. It is reproduced now with some emphasis added. The 2023 Virginia General Assembly tax debate is just another revival of an old political show. Last year it ended well for new Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and for those hoping to pay less in state...
Just a week after the hotly contested primaries in Virginia, where the more progressive candidates won in the Democratic primaries and where the Youngkin-endorsed candidates won in the Republican primaries — November was already bound to be an ideological battle for control of the Commonwealth. Now, to add fuel to this...
Members of the General Assembly who voted for a bill in 2021 mandating that new vehicles sold in Virginia must be all-electric by 2035 forgot to do the math to show exactly how that would work in real life. As the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy noted in February when we unsuccessfully...
Work isn’t just about a paycheck. At its core, work is about freedom, accomplishment, respect, human dignity, and even companionship. Work gives purpose and is essential to a thriving community, and thriving communities are essential to a thriving state. That is why it is not surprising to see Gov. Youngkin focus so...
Renewable energy donor Clean Virginia Fund was the biggest winner in Tuesday’s primaries, going head to head against Dominion Energy Virginia in several nomination contests and often winning. Senior incumbent Democrats with strong Green New Deal voting records went down to defeat, because good wasn’t good enough. Come Election Day in November, the contrast...
