Let me begin by saying I do not support ANY of the plans put forth by the Governor or the General Assembly. However, we MUST recognize that we need a dedicated revenue stream for transportation, for everything from Metro to correcting the myriad shortcoming of our state infrastructure. Over at Mason Conservative (by way of Jim Bowden), there is an excellent post about Bob Marshall’s heroic efforts to straighten out this mess, with no help from our hero Bill Howell. Bob doesn’t just immediately seek ‘compromise’ on any given issue, he looks for the best, no-nonsense, conservative solution. I LOVE his idea to do away with the federal ethanol mandate. That is high in the running for most ridiculous federal boondoggle of the past 10 years. Eat corn, don’t burn it.
I would be in favor of a dedicated gasoline tax to pay for transportation. The big caveat is we can’t have the state government “pulling a Mark Warner” and absconding with the transportation money for other purposes. We could also find things to eliminate in the budget to pay for transportation, but then guys like Howell and Albo and Norment will tell us there’s nothing more to cut, right?
Yet another reason why Bob Marshall needs to be the next Speaker.
Cross-posted to The Northern Virginia Conservative
