And let the debate begin.
Everyone has now submitted their budget proposals for bridging a $4 billion budget shortfall including former Governor Tim Kaine, Governor Bob McDonnell, the House of Delegates and the State Senate.
And, as we knew from the outset, these cuts are going to hurt. There’s no way to cut $4 billion from a budget that has been cut dramatically over the past eight years, without all Virginians feeling it.
After reviewing the proposals, it appears Gov. McDonnell and the House are on the same page (with a few exceptions). The Senate’s proposal is different, with much smaller cuts to health and human services and education.
Governor Kaine proposed raising taxes to cover a portion of the shortfall… an idea that was dead on arrival. The Senate plan has some modest tax increases, but those too are likely to die a quick death.
So, now our leaders will spend the next few weeks debating just how much money to chop from health care, education, and public safety to name a few.
I don’t envy them.
Posted by Jay Warren at 11:37 PM. Filed under: main •
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Posted by ( dcrawford ) on March 11, 2010 at 12:29 am
I am not understanding this whole budget shortfall. I thought the cigarette tax and other stuff were supposed to be going to the schools and other programs that were short on money? Where is all that money going, since I know there are hundreds of thousands of packs of cigarettes sold in this state daily. Or is that being used for the wrong purposes just like the bank bailout money went for?
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