Emerging like a cicada from whatever hole he’s been hiding in, Ken Cuccinelli this morning announced what he calls his “jobs plan for Virginia”. Instead, based on the Washington Post’s summary, it looks like Cuccinelli’s plan would simply do what Republicans love doing the most: rewarding wealthy individuals and corporations with huge tax cuts, while blowing a massive hole in the budget and saddling the rest of us with the bill. Specifically, Cuccinelli “calls for cutting the corporate income tax rate from 6 percent to 4 percent over four years, and reducing the individual income tax rate from 5.75 percent to 5 percent over that period.” The result: “those cuts would cost state government about $1.4 billion a year.”
How would Cuccinelli recoup that $1.4 billion a year it? He claims he’ll do it by eliminating “tax exemptions and loopholes,” but far more likely is that he’ll have to do one or more of the following: 1) slash education spending; 2) slash spending on health care; 3) raise taxes on the working and middle classes; 4) screw Virginia’s localities; and/or 5) destroy Virginia’s AAA bond rating. Unless, of course, you believe that there really are $1.4 billion a year in “tax exemptions and loopholes” that realistically could be cut. And if you believe that one…
Also, see the following statement from the McAuliffe for Governor campaign, which sums it up nicely:
While Ken Cuccinelli has focused his career on divisive social issues like restricting women’s health, his new foray into economic issues shows that he puts ideology ahead of sound fiscal management in Virginia. Cuccinelli’s proposal would lead to a budget crisis that could undermine education, force localities to dramatically raise property taxes, and threaten the Commonwealth’s bond rating. Under Governors Warner, Kaine and McDonnell, Virginia has maintained its reputation as a well-managed state but Cuccinelli’s unrealistic and ideological plan would undermine that tradition. Virginians know there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Equally unrealistic is Cuccinelli’s bizarre attempt to claim that he supported the recent work of Governor McDonnell. Cuccinelli’s attempts to claim credit for McDonnell’s signature transportation compromise have been mocked in the past since it is well-documented Cuccinelli was one of the extremists who tried to derail the bipartisan plan.
Terry McAuliffe has proposed realistic, mainstream solutions to make Virginia the best for business including responsible local tax reform, strengthening workforce training, streamlining economic development and diversifying Virginia’s economy. While Cuccinelli tried to stop Governor McDonnell’s transportation plan at each and every step, Terry was proud to encourage passage of the bipartisan compromise that will reduce gridlock and improve competitiveness.
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