On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell announced that the
Federal Highway Administration “reallocated” $52 million in federal
transportation funds to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).[1]
The funding comes from other states that did not use their own allocations of
federal transportation funds.
If the federal money allocated to states cannot be committed
to projects, then the uncommitted money is reallocated to states that have
committed the entirety of their funding and have other projects ready to be
started.
According to McDonnell, VDOT wants to use the additional
funding mainly to repave portions of I-95 and I-85 in the Richmond area as well
as I-264 in Hampton Roads.
For a governor who has frequently decried federal government
overreach, McDonnell has been quick to accept the aid that the federal
government has offered up. For example, the Recovery Act allocated $2.5 billion
in stimulus relief to Virginia to “maintain crucial services for [Virginia]
citizens.”[2]
Even though many members of the Republican Party are
unwilling to say publicly that they benefit from federal largesse, the truth is
that virtually every American does in one way or another.[3]
For good or bad, better or worse, the federal government
subsidizes various aspects of our lives and what’s more, many of us enjoy the
fruits of these subsidies.
While politicians like Bob McDonnell decry government
overreach and spending, how many of us would truly be better off if the federal
government rolled back into the cocoon that it inhabited before Abraham
Lincoln?
This is to argue that the federal government is not in and
of itself a bad thing. It can be, however, when extreme politicians attempt to
impose their narrow views of what the country should look like on everyone
else.
We, the people, are the true bearers of our government’s
actions. So if you perceive wrongful government actions, the answer is not to
eliminate government, it’s to go about righting the wrongs.
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