THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 9, 1995 TAG: 9502080025
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
Virginia's fiscal budget is operating in the red and is continuing to transfer more expenses off the budget in order to make it balance. Too much chicanery is going on. Any money saved by controlling government waste should be applied to preventing deficits and funding prison construction and our education and cultural needs.
Returning money, abating taxes or lifting highway tolls in order to put more money in a family's pocket does not serve the state's fiscal needs. If families are in need of more money, then let them earn it at work. The Federal Reserve keeps raising the federal discount rate in order to slow down the economy. If the economy is heating up, then revenue from employers should be available to hard-working middle-class Virginians. Why is the government dolling out money to the middle class? It is more important that government address the state's needs without spending beyond existing tax revenue.
Existing levels of tax collection should be applied to prudently governing the state and to preventing debt. The bond rating should not be allowed to decline, and our low level or per-capita tax collection and expenditure should not be allowed to drop any closer to 50th in the nation than it already is (being about 45th).
LAWRENCE FLEDER
Virginia Beach, Jan. 18, 1995 by CNB