Derrick Max, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy: Your May 19, 2024 Sunday Summary...Budget signed, Inflation and Indexing, Slots, WMATA, Debates, DEI, Brown v Board...and More...

1.) The $188 billion budget passed quickly and without any changes on Monday (here).  The Thomas Jefferson Institute's Steve Haner wrote a great summary of the biennial budget (here).  As he had suggested earlier (here), this budget gave Democrats most of their spending demands and gave Governor Youngkin a budget without any explicit tax increases.  The passage and signing were done quickly with much celebration.

2.) So, how does Virginia "magically" increase spending, without raising taxes? Inflation! I wrote about the stealth tax increase in the Virginia budget when inflation drives up wages, pushing taxpayers into higher tax brackets and lowering the value of their deductions (here). Virginia is one of only 16 states with graduated income taxes that does not index their tax code for inflation. The Thomas Jefferson Institute has long advocated for indexing Virginia's tax code (here).   3.) While inflation helps provide tax revenue to Virginia, it is a problem for taxpayers and the economy. Bidenomics has led to a 20 percent increase in prices since President Biden took office (here). Biden continues to lie that inflation was 9 percent when he took office (here). Or maybe he doesn't remember… 4.) Governor Youngkin vetoed the slot machine…errr…skill games legislation this week (here). Sadly, Governor Youngkin's veto letter noted that he was "willing to work with the General Assembly" on this issue (here). The leading thought is to dedicate revenue from skill games to "education" as is done with lottery revenue (here). But, as with the lottery, this is no guarantee of additional education spending (here). Viewed properly, the lottery (and potential skill game revenue) for education is best viewed as a tax that according to the Tax Foundation is regressive, lacks transparency, and is inefficient (here). 5.) The skill game veto means that the Thomas Jefferson Institute's position on all 11 of our key priority issues was favorably acted upon by the Governor -- thank you Governor Youngkin for being willing to veto or amend a record number of bills that would have significantly altered the economy and culture of the Commonwealth. 6.) Noting the added revenue the recently signed Virginia budget provided to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority (WMATA), Governor Youngkin again urged President Biden to call federal workers back to their offices (here). I wrote last year about the reduced ridership and other issues underlying WMATA's near bankruptcy (here). Ridership alone won't fix what's wrong with this behemoth, but it is an important first step…  7.) The Presidential Debate Commission had chosen Virginia State University (VSU) to be the first Historically Black College (HBCU) to host a Presidential debate. President Biden's "make my day" debate challenge to former President Donald Trump cut VSU out as a debate hosting site. Former Governor Wilder and Governor Youngkin and a host of other elected Virginia officials went after President Biden for not agreeing to debate at VSU (here and here and here and here). 8.) In response to Governor Youngkin's request for documents about what is being taught in their planned mandatory DEI courses, VCU and George Mason University have both announced that the DEI courses will no longer be mandatory (here).   9.) Friday was the 70th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v Board of Education. With one of the five cases that made up the historic case originating in Prince Edward, Virginia -- Virginia Public Media published a great retrospective on the history (here) as did Cardinal News (here). Governor Youngkin posted a message on X from the Moton Museum in Farmville, VA to commemorate the occasion (here). We have work to do, but we owe a debt of gratitude to those that stood up to fight this injustice. 10.) Two more large school districts are joining the movement to lock up cell phones during the day -- Fairfax County (here) and Stafford County (here). Our schools and families need to educate themselves on the dangers of cell phones for our youth and help them disconnect from technology and reconnect with friends and family. Kudos to these schools…the below chart on suicide among teens in the cell phone era should keep us all up at night.

11.) Loudoun County parents and advocates are pushing back on having School Resource Officers in elementary classrooms (here). 12.) The Washington Post made its primary endorsements in the 10th and 7th Northern Virginia Congressional Districts to replace Rep. Jennifer Wexton and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (here). In the 10th, spurning the Wexton-endorsed candidate State Sen. Suhas Subramanyam, the Post instead endorsed Delegate Dan Helmer (Fairfax). The Post pointed to Helmer's legislative record and his role as the head of the Democrat campaign committee which helped take control of the House of Delegates. On the Republican side, the Post endorsed defense contractor and former Army Lt. Colonol, Alex Isaac. In the 7th, the Post endorsed Eugene Vindman, the Army Colonel who played a role in the impeachment of Donald Trump. In the Republican primary, they endorsed former Green Beret Derrick Anderson.   13.) For political junkies, the Republican primary in the 5th Congressional District between incumbent Rep. Bob Good and State Senator John McGuire is the one to watch. The Republican PAC, Defending Main Street, is going after Good for his voting record, including voting to oust Speaker McCarthy while the American Patriots PAC is throwing money behind McGuire for his service as a Navy Seal (here). The rhetoric between the two has become harsh (here), as both seek to label the other as a Republican in Name Only (RINO) while seeking to prove their own MAGA credentials (here). This is going to get uglier… 14.) Speaking of harsh rhetoric, how long will the once great Republican party put up with the behavior of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green? This exchange started by Rep. Green is beneath the dignity of the House, and truthfully, as a former Principal, beneath the dignity of your average middle schooler (here).  The Democrat responses also lacked decorum and are an embarrassment...something is wrong in our culture...