{"id":278,"date":"2021-09-02T05:32:47","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T05:32:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/?p=278"},"modified":"2021-09-02T05:34:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T05:34:00","slug":"republican-youngkin-unveils-long-list-of-policy-priorities-in-virginia-governors-race-including-tax-cuts-and-new-spending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/republican-youngkin-unveils-long-list-of-policy-priorities-in-virginia-governors-race-including-tax-cuts-and-new-spending\/","title":{"rendered":"(WP)Republican Youngkin unveils long list of policy priorities in Virginia governor\u2019s race, including tax cuts and new spending"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RICHMOND \u2014 Republican Glenn Youngkin rolled out an extensive set of policy priorities Monday, a wish list of tax cuts and spending plans designed to frame his race for Virginia governor around something more specific than his background as a former business executive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin touted his proposals as a \u201cday one game plan,\u201d though most of it would require enactment by the General Assembly, which is currently controlled by Democrats. All 100 seats in the House of Delegates are on the ballot this fall along with governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe only thing we have to do differently is everything,\u201d Youngkin told supporters gathered at a Fairfax County construction company, describing a Virginia that he says cannot compete for jobs and crushes its residents with taxes. \u201cBecause to fix what is broken we can\u2019t settle for half measures, we need a whole new approach to absolutely uproot the liberal bureaucracy that has taken hold of Richmond and to make government accountable to the people again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign of Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe, who is seeking a comeback after serving as governor from 2014 to 2018, dismissed Youngkin\u2019s proposals as out of touch with the state\u2019s fiscal reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of Glenn Youngkin\u2019s Trumpian tax plans have one thing in common: they would lead to drastic cuts to public education and drive Virginia\u2019s economy into a ditch,\u201d McAuliffe spokeswoman Christina Freundlich said in a statement. She also noted in a phone interview that Virginia was recently named the best state for business by CNBC for the second-straight time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McAuliffe has released numerous policy proposals on his website and regularly criticizes Youngkin for failing to provide specific ideas of his own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Youngkin campaign spokesman said that the new package is not a response to the criticism. \u201cThis is a response to voters,\u201d the spokesman said. \u201cThis is what we\u2019ve been hearing as Glenn travels all across the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The centerpiece of Youngkin\u2019s policy prescription is a package of one-time tax cuts totaling some $1.8 billion and recurring tax cuts amounting to about $1.4 billion per year, according to campaign officials who previewed details of the proposals for The Washington Post on the condition that the aides not be named.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the one-time cuts would be paid for out of a surplus of some $2.6 billion that the state projects for the coming budget year, the campaign aides said, suggesting that the surplus was the result of over-taxation in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has said the surplus is the result of stronger-than-expected economic growth during the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northam touts Virginia\u2019s \u2018roaring\u2019 economy while warning of delta variant<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the projected surplus is already committed under state law, including $1.1 billion that must be deposited in the state\u2019s \u201crainy day\u201d reserves fund; $314 million that goes to a water quality improvement fund; $116 million to the transportation trust fund; and several hundred million dollars that must be set aside for various budget contingencies, according to state officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonetheless, Youngkin\u2019s team proposes using some of the money to pay for one-time rebates of $300 for individual taxpayers and $600 for couples filing jointly, as well as for suspending a recent increase in the state gasoline tax and enacting a tax holiday for small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin\u2019s plan also calls for doubling the state\u2019s standard income-tax deduction, making it $9,000 for an individual and $18,000 for a couple filing jointly. Campaign aides said that change would save the average married couple about $518 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That appears to represent a step back from Youngkin\u2019s statements earlier in the campaign that he was interested in eliminating the state income tax, which provides about 70 percent of the revenue in the state\u2019s general fund each year. A campaign spokesman said that Youngkin\u2019s proposals are a way \u201cto give taxpayers relief as quickly as possible\u201d and that his desire to eliminate the tax was \u201caspirational.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Virginia an economic success or \u2018in the ditch?\u2019 Depends on which candidate you ask<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with the income tax cut, Youngkin intends to propose eliminating the state\u2019s 2.5 percent tax on groceries and exempting the first $40,000 in veteran retirement pay. Youngkin\u2019s campaign aides said they were confident the state budget could absorb the loss of annual revenue at current expected growth rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin pledged to create 400,000 new jobs during a four-year term in office, though he did not offer much detail on how he would achieve such a massive number. He said he would aim to cut state business regulations by 25 percent \u2014 scaling up a pilot program that has been underway for three years \u2014 and aides said he would work with the General Assembly to streamline requirements for starting a new business as administered by the State Corporation Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In education, Youngkin promised raises for schoolteachers, which aides said would cost about $100 million per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said he would create 20 new charter schools around the state at a cost of about $100 million. Even during its years under Republican control, Virginia government has resisted the charter school trend; the state has only a handful of such publicly funded, independently run schools \u2014 a fraction of the number in other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin drew a cheer from supporters when he vowed to keep public schools open five days a week \u2014 something that\u2019s already required by state law. He also promised that \u201cI will not allow covid lockdowns to ever occur in Virginia again,\u201d speaking on a day when both hospitalizations and the seven-day average of daily cases in the state are at highs not seen since February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crowd cheered even louder when Youngkin said he would ban the teaching of critical race theory, which despite a conservative outcry is not part of the state\u2019s education curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin also will propose spending about $200 million over the next two years to provide additional raises to state police, sheriff\u2019s deputies and corrections officers statewide. The General Assembly recently approved one-time bonuses for those categories, using a portion of the $4.3 billion the federal government allocated for Virginia under the coronavirus relief plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly $1 billion of that American Relief Plan money remains unappropriated, and Youngkin\u2019s team proposes using much of that to pay for improving staffing at the state\u2019s mental health facilities, investing in site readiness and other economic development efforts, and expanding workforce training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of Youngkin\u2019s proposals mirror efforts already underway. For instance, he is calling for all Department of Motor Vehicles offices to reopen for walk-in service, which the General Assembly has already set in motion. During a special legislative session early this month, lawmakers gave the DMV 30 days to submit a plan to reopen for walk-ins and 30 days beyond that to carry it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also promises to modernize the Virginia Employment Commission, which struggled with outdated computer systems and a lack of staffing during the heightened demands of the pandemic. Northam and the General Assembly have dedicated some $800 million to replenishing the state\u2019s unemployment trust fund and have ramped up hiring at the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Youngkin plan also calls for changes to the way localities handle personal property tax. Currently, if the assessment of a home goes up, a locality can easily keep its tax rate the same, meaning the homeowner pays more on the higher valuation. Youngkin would propose requiring that tax rates go down when assessments go up, unless voters in a locality approve otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like virtually all of the campaign\u2019s proposals, that would require action by the General Assembly \u2014 which always faces pushback when it meddles in the few revenue powers granted to the state\u2019s localities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Control of the House of Delegates is at stake in this year\u2019s elections, with Democrats defending a 55-to-45 majority. The state Senate is not up for election; Democrats hold a 21-19 advantage there, with tie votes broken by the lieutenant governor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Youngkin\u2019s campaign aides said that if elected, he anticipates the GOP also gaining control of the House and winning the lieutenant governor\u2019s seat. But \u201che intends to work with Democrats no matter what the makeup of the [House] or the Senate is,\u201d a campaign spokesman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposals being rolled out by Youngkin\u2019s campaign are essentially its version of the budget plan that Northam will unveil before the end of the year, in which he will set priorities for the same pots of money for the next two-year spending plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the state constitution prohibits a governor from serving consecutive terms, it will be up to the next governor and the General Assembly to modify and adapt that plan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RICHMOND — Republican Glenn Youngkin rolled out an extensive set of policy priorities Monday, aContinue reading(WP)Republican Youngkin unveils long list of policy priorities in Virginia governor\u2019s race, including tax cuts and new spending<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283,"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions\/283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/whatistandfor.co\/conservativecitizen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}