Piling on taxes & deficit spending hurts job creation
We must enact policies that promote entrepreneurship and innovation, so America can better compete with the world. What government should not do is pile on more taxation, regulation, and litigation that kill jobs and hurt the middle class.
It was
Thomas Jefferson who called for "A wise and frugal Government which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry; and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." He was right.
Today, the federal government is simply trying to do too much.
Last year, we were told that massive new federal spending would create more jobs 'immediately' and hold unemployment below 8%.In the past year, over three million
Americans have lost their jobs, yet the Democratic Congress continues deficit spending, adding to the bureaucracy, and increasing the national debt on our children and grandchildren.
Virginians are struggling with the worst economy in generations. We will not turn our economy around by taxing Virginians more. To do so would ignore the indisputable truth that the fiscal fortune of any government is tied to the economic prosperity of
its people.
Therefore, if you pass a bill in this recession that raises taxes on the hardworking families of Virginia--I WILL VETO IT. And if you pass a budget embedded with those same tax increases--I WILL NOT APPROVE IT.
Source: Virginia 2010 State of the State Address
, Jan 18, 2010
Use general funds for transportation bill, not new taxes
Bob McDonnell has pledged not to sign a transportation bill with new revenue. His approach is to pay for transportation with money from the general fund. As The Post has reported, "general funds can be spent at the discretion of the General Assembly & th
governor. The majority of the money in the general fund goes to education (45.9%), with the rest to health and human resources (24.2%) and public safety (11.1%)."
Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly are on record opposing taking funds
from these critical priorities to pay for roads. McDonnell's idea of using general funds for transportation is not new. In 2007, an editorial in the Daily Press of Hampton Roads said that McDonnell urged "the General Assembly to exploit the gap in state
road funding as a rationale for reducing state spending on education, public safety, health care and conservation. That such an ideological purpose lies behind the Republican transportation proposal has been implied all along. McDonnell made it explicit.
Source: Creigh Deeds editorial in Washington Post
, Sep 23, 2009
Opposed tax increases for core government services
Deeds had little to say about Gov. Kaine and instead pledged to govern in the mold of Sen. Mark Warner (D). Warner's victory in the 2001 gubernatorial race began Virginia's Democratic trend, and his signature achievement--a
2004 tax increase for improved core government services--was opposed by McDonnell.
McDonnell said he did not agree with all of Bush's policies but reaffirmed his belief that tax cuts are the right way to respond to an economic recession.
Source: Washington Post coverage: 2009 Virginia gubernatorial debate
, Jul 25, 2009
Kill the Death Tax; eliminate fraud & duplication
Bob McDonnell voted more than 50 times to cut taxes during his 14 years in the House of Delegates, resulting in over $2 billion in tax cuts.
Bob McDonnell was Chief Sponsor of legislation to kill the
Death Tax on family businesses and farms.
As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell proactively cut his office's budget by nearly 15%. In 2008 he gave back his state car and cut his own salary--voluntarily!.
These cuts saved Virginia taxpayers close to $4 million.
As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell fought to eliminate fraud in the Medicare system, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are being used wisely and efficiently.
As Attorney General, Bob McDonnell established the Government and Regulatory Reform Task Force to eliminate burdensome and duplicative government regulations and ensure that hinder free enterprise and job creation.
