From the Editor
Who Let the Fox Into the Henhouse?
By Mark Fausz
Sep 24, 2008 - 9:27:40 AM

My tax incentive check came and went this spring. It was like pouring water through a sieve. I have no idea where it went. I’ll definitely be paying it back though  – through taxes.
 
But I won’t get a chance to pour anything through my proverbial financial sieve, while I will get the privilege to pay taxes due to the ongoing bailout of the fat cats on Wall Street.
 
The $314 billion last week and a proposed $700 billion this week equates to $3,380 for each man, woman, and child in the United States.

At almost twice what the Iraq war has cost us, it would pay for top-notch healthcare for every person in Virginia for a year with enough left over to build about 325 miles of roads.

I’m not suggesting that something didn’t have to be done to keep our economy from completely imploding, but isn’t it sickening to think that this has happened primarily due to unbridled greed – and friends, it’s not over yet.

Remember trickle-down economics? Deregulate the corporate and financial markets, and the profits will eventually end up in your pocket. Although it took 25 years, we now know where that got us. Think about the trickle-down effects of this series of bailouts.
 
First, forget about any political promises of tax breaks in the near future. Forget about federal dollars coming to Chesterfield for roads, schools, public safety, and the like. Don’t worry about too much of your tax dollars going to Headstart, Pell Grants, or any other so-called entitlements. The amount of money that Congressman Randy Forbes could bring to Chesterfield is going to dry up. If you don’t like earmarks, it won’t be a problem for you. But save this column to refer to when your taxes begin going up to pay for our local needs.

Federal programs will surely be cut back or eliminated, and more of what the feds were paying for will fall on the state. Oh, that’s right; Virginia is suffering one of the biggest budgetary shortfalls in history. Who’s next in line? That’s right, your local government.

Chesterfield has already had to make budget concessions that have affected road building, the number of police and their salaries, and the building of schools partially due to a cutback in federal and state funding.

So with lesser federal money, and state money, especially for transportation, having come to a screeching halt,we are left with paying the tab locally.

Just recently, local governments (Chesterfield has taken a leadership role) have banded together to garner approval for a Central Virginia Region Transportation Authority (CVRTA). That initiative would raise money for local roads, and Chesterfield would grab about $38 million annually, although Chesterfield is behind on its road building projects to the tune of $1 billion.

You will be paying for these transportation projects through increased taxes and fees. You asked your state legislators not to raise taxes. You asked your local government not to raise your taxes, and you even pray that the feds don’t raise your taxes. But it has to come from somewhere. The CVRTA would get their funding from a 2 percent increase on gasoline taxes, a $10 annual vehicle-inspection fee, $10 vehicle-registration fee, a 5 percent tax on vehicle repairs, a grantors tax increase of 40 cents, and a 2 percent tax on car rentals.

Local government is being forced to nickel and dime you to death. The ideological practices of those at higher levels of government have forced the tax burden to trickle down to you. Oh yeah, it was the big bucks, not the big taxes that were supposed to trickle down to us.

It’s shameful, immoral, and should be against the law. In the Bible, the Koran, and every other book of rules regarding personal responsibility, usury is considered a sin. Usury is basically about the rich preying upon the not-so-well-to-do and at one time was the basis for some of our monetary laws – no longer. Usury laws have gone by the wayside in this market-driven economy, where supposedly the less we regulate those who control the money, the better off everyone will be.  

Now we see the results of letting the wolf into the henhouse. The inherent problem of a market-driven system whereby all regulations and oversight are tossed aside encouraging greed. Human characteristics will play out when allowed, and they have. The consequences of allowing the market to work its so-called magic is now upon us in the form of what could be the beginning of the Great Depression II.

Whether we realize it or not, we are seeing this “let the market do its thing” philosophy in the privatization of areas that the government has always controlled. PPEAs to build schools, similar public-private deals to build roads like I-895, the Chester police precinct built by a private company with a long term lease to the county, and more that are just being figured out. You can even get a taste of it when developers proffer to build off-site roads as part of a project. The problem is that they are in control, not the people, and the government lies down because they somehow think they’re getting something for nothing. (See Branner Station off-site roads.)

Oh, the market will take care of it all right. Look at what the market is doing to us now. I have always felt that deregulation would be our undoing. It looks like it has begun. Hold on to your seat, it’s going to be a bumpy and costly ride.

mfausz@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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