The Lieutenant Governor went to Lynchburg and said some things about the upcoming special session (Lynchburg News and Advance, emphasis added):
In response to another question funding Virginia’s transportation needs, Bolling attacked the tax increases proposed in Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s plan, which will be offered to next week’s special session of the General Assembly.
Those tax increases “could be very harmful to a very fragile economy, and I don’t think it necessary,” Bolling said.
“I don’t believe the problem in Richmond today is a lack of money. I think the problem in Richmond today is a lack of fiscal discipline,” he said, adding that state revenues and spending have increased 180 percent in 10 years.
“I support the use of existing revenue sources to generate more money for transportation,” he said.
That last line is the key; in fact, with that line Bolling slams the door that he perilously kept open last month on regional tax increases. So oddly enough, even as Bob McDonnell started out well and got worse; Bolling started out badly, but got better.
Of course, the rubber hits the road when the special session convenes. Words are nice, but a nice word and a tax increase is no better than a tax increase all by itself.
