See below for a press release from Gov. Abigail Spanberger marking her six months in office, and highlighting “work to lower costs & deliver stability for Virginians.” Also, see my comments in green/bold/brackets…
Marking Six Months in Office, Governor Spanberger Highlights Work to Lower Costs & Deliver Stability for Virginians [I’ve pointed out repeatedly that an individual state’s governor can’t really do much to “lower costs” (or more likely, at best, slightly reduce the rate of inflation in their state?) – or “deliver stability” for the residents of their state, however one even defines “deliver stability”; got me on that one. So IMHO, this headline mostly falls into the “raise expectations, without being able to meet them” or “overpromise/underdeliver” category, no matter what the governor does.]
In Six Months, Governor Signed the Entire Affordable Virginia Agenda Into Law, Announced More Than $5 Billion in New Business Investment, & Celebrated a Record $2 Billion in New Education Funding [There’s some good stuff, for sure, in this agenda, but it’s definitely not sufficient to make Virginia “affordable,” given that the main items in a family’s budget – housing, childcare, healthcare/health insurance, car/transportation, food/groceries, utilities, etc.] aren’t really touched in a big way by the “Affordable Virginia Agenda”]
Governor Spanberger: “Together, We Will Continue Building a Safer, Stronger, & More Affordable Future” [Nice goal, for sure – one that everyone would want – but…how?]
RICHMOND, VA — Governor Abigail Spanberger today highlighted her work throughout her first six months in office to lower costs for families, invest in the Commonwealth’s long-term economic strength, strengthen schools, and deliver stability amid chaos and uncertainty from Washington. [It’s not generic “chaos and uncertainty from Washington,” it’s from TRUMP and the TRUMP REGIME – why not say so, clearly? What is accomplished by not clearly, specifically calling out the source of the problems we’re facing?]
“Since day one, we have been focused on the challenge Virginians tell me about everywhere I go: the high cost of living. [I already commented on this, but again…nope, an individual governor can’t really do much on this front.] Six months into my term, I am proud to report that our entire Affordable Virginia Agenda is now law. We’re delivering tax relief [First of all, “tax relief” is Republican “framing”; second, what Democrats should be focused on is instituting a much more progressive, equitable tax code, such as by increasing rates on the super-rich, big/profitable corporations, etc. BTW, if Spanberger’s people think that a progressive tax code some wild-eyed, liberal/lefty idea, they might want to consider that we had such a tax code in this country for 50 years or so, under both Democratic and Republican presidents. They also might want to look at polling, which finds that “Democrats overwhelmingly say billionaires’ taxes are too low (85%), as do a substantial minority of Republicans (39%)” and that “More than six-in-ten U.S. adults (63%) say tax rates on large businesses and corporations should be raised. This includes 34% who say they should be raised a lot.” ] by increasing the standard deduction. We’re raising the minimum wage. We’re capping the out-of-pocket cost of insulin. We’re becoming the first state in the South to offer paid family and medical leave to working Virginians. And we established a first-of-its-kind energy consumption tax on data centers. [All good stuff.]
“At a moment when Washington is manufacturing chaos [Nope, generic “Washington” isn’t “manufacturing chaos”; that would be the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION and REPUBLICAN CONGRESS, and it’s not so much “chaos” as severe HARM to our country. Again, why can’t politicians like Spanberger just say that???] — from tariffs and trade wars to attacks on the federal workforce and looming cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs — Virginia is choosing a different path: steady, pragmatic governance focused on lowering the cost of living and building long-term economic strength [Sounds nice, but Virginia can’t separate itself from the impacts of Trump’s and Congressional Republicans’ depradations, unfortunately. Also, again, there’s basically zero chance that an individual governor can lower the cost of living in their state, or even significantly reduce the rate of inflation in their state.] Putting Virginia first means working with anyone — and everyone — to do what’s best for our home [Again, sounds nice if you don’t think about it all, but it’s pretty hard, if not impossible, to work with far-right extremists, which is what MAGA Republicans are these days, to “do what’s best” for Virginia.] , and I am ready to continue doing just that.
“In the months ahead, I will build on this foundation — preparing Virginia for the devastating impacts of the so-called ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ unveiling new statewide plans for energy and economic development, advancing an agenda to boost housing supply and lower costs, and continuing to press for commonsense environmental standards for data centers. Together, we will continue building a safer, stronger, and more affordable future by delivering real solutions that Virginians can trust.” [Ditto to previous comments.]
Governor Spanberger’s first six months in office show a core focus on lowering costs for Virginians. [Broken record alert…see previous comments.] In her first 100 days, the Governor signed the entire Affordable Virginia Agenda into law, delivering comprehensive solutions in the three areas where families feel costs most.
- Healthcare: Capping monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35, requiring insurers to offer plans that cap total out-of-pocket prescription drug costs, stopping pharmacy middlemen from inflating drug prices, and $150 million in new Affordable Care Act premium assistance funding to help as many as 200,000 Virginians following federal inaction.
- Energy: Enacting first-in-the-nation laws to protect ratepayers by maximizing existing grid infrastructure, requiring utilities to invest in long-term energy storage to lower peak costs, and providing a consumer credit to offset RGGI costs for families. [All good things, but if you REALLY want to lower energy costs and move rapidly to a clean energy economy, you’d be a LOT more ambitious, including things like putting in place aggressive, mandatory energy efficiency requirements for Dominion Energy.]
- Housing: Streamlining approvals for affordable housing, significantly strengthening renter protections, empowering localities to preserve and protect the long-term availability of affordable housing, and giving every locality the tools to increase its housing supply. [If you really wanted to reduce the cost of housing, you’d need to pass/enact policies to shift the supply curve for housing out big-time; focus on transit-oriented development, not sprawl; restrict exclusionary single-family zoning; etc. Is any of that happening? Hmmm…]
Governor Spanberger has worked to extend workers’ paychecks — making Virginia more affordable by tackling wages that have not kept up with rising costs and making sure working families have long-term security.
- Paid Family and Medical Leave: Virginia is the first state in the South to offer paid family and medical leave to allow hardworking Virginians to keep their paychecks while taking care of loved ones, recovering from illness, and spending time with their newborns.
- Paid Sick Leave: Expanding access to paid sick leave for Virginia workers, ensuring that the more than one million workers who currently lack access to paid sick days can take care of themselves and their families without sacrificing their wages.
- Minimum Wage: Raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
- Tax Relief: Increasing the standard deduction by $550 for single filers and $1,100 for joint filers, reducing Virginians’ tax liability.
- Wage History: Requiring employers to share a position’s salary range and preventing them from using a candidate’s previous salary history to determine future pay. [These are all excellent items, although I wouldn’t use Republican framing on taxes, and instead would push for a much more progressive tax code in general. Also, BTW, how about the Prescription Drug Affordability Board? Collective bargaining? Class-action lawsuits? etc.]
Virginia also enacted a bipartisan biennium budget through finding common ground — including record investments to strengthen public education, contend with federal cuts, and make sure data centers pay their fair share for the energy they use.
- Education: Record $2 billion investment in new public education funding, 4 percent raises for teachers and school support staff, $577 million for childcare and early childhood education, and $349.7 million for higher education, including funds to prevent tuition hikes and support HBCUs.
- Data Center Consumption Tax: Virginia now has a first-of-its-kind energy consumption tax requiring data centers to pay their fair share for the resources they use, projected to generate $600 million annually.
- Protections from the So-Called “One Big Beautiful Bill”: $350 million to establish a Medicaid Reserve Fund and $225 million to establish a Federal Contingency Fund to protect Virginians from devastating cuts coming from President Trump’s tax law. [Good stuff, although first of all, stop calling the Big UGLY Bill by its Trumpian/Orwellian name; second, good for calling out Trump by name for a change; third, there’s only so much individual states can do to protect their people from the tremendous harm done by Trump, DOGE, the Republican Congress, etc. But we’ve got to try, of course, which means we’re going to need a lot of money, which in turn means…tax wealthy individuals and big corporations, pretty much.]
Under Governor Spanberger, Virginia remains one of the best places in the country to start or expand a business. The Governor is working to grow opportunity in every corner of the Commonwealth by:
- Bringing New Investment to Virginia: Announcing more than $5 billion in new business investment and more than 3,000 new jobs across the Commonwealth.
- InternshipsVA: Launching a new program to help employers create high-quality paid internships for higher education students.
- Supporting Federal Workers: Launching new resources to help federal workers displaced by Washington’s cuts find jobs and to connect Virginians to in-demand healthcare careers and training.
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