U.S. Senate candidate George Allen publicly stated his opposition
to the toll being entertained by Gov. Bob McDonnell for I-95 in Sussex County, located
in Southern Virginia.
According to Allen, “Southern Virginia already faces
significant economic challenges and these tolls could disadvantage job-creating
businesses in the region, and the hardworking Virginia families already
suffering from skyrocketing fuel costs.”[1]
For once, I agree with Mr. Allen. One of the last areas of
Virginia that new tolls should be added is the economically challenged southern
portion of the state.
A toll’s lifespan is only supposed to encompass the time it
requires to pay for a given infrastructure project. For instance, if you
construct a toll on the James River bridge, the toll is only supposed to be
used until upgrades or new construction has been entirely paid off.
The toll being proposed in Sussex County appears, however,
to be little more than a money maker for the state government. McDonnell has
attempted to defend his proposal by claiming that “a large number” of vehicles
that pass through this stretch of the I-95 corridor are from out-of-state.[2] But
even George Allen doesn’t buy this argument!
The Kaine campaign also responded to McDonnell’s proposal. “An
over-reliance on toll revenues across Virginia is the direct result of elected
officials like George Allen who put no-tax-ever pledges over the best interests
of Virginia’s families and businesses,”[3]
Kaine for Virginia communications director, Brandi Hoffine, noted.
Instead of transgressing their politically untenable
positions on tax increases, Republican politicians often resort to other forms
of taxation, like tolls; So-called “small government” conservatives like Bob
McDonnell want new revenue for the state coffers just as badly as any “liberal”
politician.
Unlike liberals however, conservative politicians like
McDonnell and Allen are more than willing to raise taxes on the middle[4]
and working classes of Virginia.
The party of small government (i.e. the Republican Party) is
truly the party of expansive taxation for those in society least able to
shoulder the extra tax burden. Thus, unless you are a millionaire, if you vote
Republican you are voting against your own economic interests.
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