"expected harsh impacts from the Trump administration have not materialized."
Says fucking who? Prices are outrageous, our farmers and ports are struggling under the tariffs, NOVA nearly had its economic engine gutted, and now Trump and co are threatening the largest offshore wind farm planned in the country at a time when data centers are driving up our energy costs.
And "strong job growth?", our growth has slowed considerably since just last year. In 2024 our state averaged around 6k jobs added per month. It barely breached 1000 in 2025, and that was compounded by huge losses of federal jobs.
ODU put out their yearly report on the state of the Commonwealth. Trade is down, prices up, unemployment is expected to hit 4.0, tourism is down...
Youngkin and Co have their heads so far up their own asses that they can see last weeks breakfast.
They really do believe if they just keep up the messaging that there aren’t really any negatives in Trumps economy and it’s all just some liberal, woke, DEI hoax that they can steal just a bit more money from their peasants..
I never understood why Youngkin, giving the fact he had to work democrats, knowing that he wants to rise up in the ranks, why couldn’t he just find some ways to work with Democrats to help them pass some things that they wanted , then he would have the ability to shape it a little and take credit so that he could get something out of that. But not to work with the party in control just seems to be weird politics that goes nowhere.
This man thinks he’s owed some concessions when legislature isn’t his when he was by far the most veto wielding governor in the first year when he controlled the house of delegates. How do you veto so many bipartisan bills your delegates had to vote and want
My friend is in the Senate. She says that despite everything the Ds and a pretty good relationship with the Rs in Richmond. So yeah, our house and Senate work together (mostly), but the Governor is a putz.
I moved to VA a few years back, and the cooperative legislature here makes my old state's look like a hyperpartisan rabble. How Youngkin has nothing to show for his tenure is a mystery.
They can get fucked, their cooperation is not necessary to move forward and any Trump sycophants are traitors to this nation and irrelevant to the discussion anyways. Virginia is back on track to advance properly into the future now that this dickhead is on his way out the door.
At his level of wealth, prior to entering politics, he never hears the word “no”. He just says “Do X” or “I want Y” and it’s done or delivered because he has money.
He’s never had to negotiate with people on equal footing before, and after four years in office, it’s very clear he still doesn’t know how.
I never understood why Youngkin, giving the fact he had to work democrats, knowing that he wants to rise up in the ranks, why couldn’t he just find some ways to work with Democrats to help them pass some things that they wanted , then he would have the ability to shape it a little and take credit so that he could get something out of that. But not to work with the party in control just seems to be weird politics that goes nowhere.
Yeah, this kind of what happened to the stadium deal. There was a complete run around of the key democratic player on the committee that has to sign off. They did not include her in the discussions and negotiations, knowing they needed her buy in, and that they could run over her. And she said no.
Because he wants to cull favor to his orange overload. If he tries to cut deals it makes him look weak…even though the ruse is “deal maker” it’s not what they want to convey because it’s not strength.
Isn’t it obvious? He wins as either trashing the place on the way out but convincing everyone republicans are generous because goldfish memory, OR he wins convincing everyone he’d have been generous if not for the democrats, because goldfish memory.
why couldn’t he just find some ways to work with Democrats to help them pass some things that they wanted , then he would have the ability to shape it a little and take credit
No, you've got it all wrong, the playbook says to oppose Democrats at every turn, and then take the credit anyway.
why couldn’t he just find some ways to work with Democrats to help them pass some things that they wanted , then he would have the ability to shape it a little and take credit so that he could get something out of that.
He did try that. Or do you people not remember the whole stadium situation? He was willing to negotiate stuff like the legalized recreational sales and minimum wage increases, yet Democrats in the state Senate didn't want to give any appearance of a "win" on that.
Refresh my memory, didn’t that stadium deal involve billions of dollars in tax incentives? If I’m remembering correctly, that sounds like a really good reason not to do it.
Ah, yes. I remember now, the language of the bill for the stadium contained zero consequences for failing to meet the extremely optimistic revenue goals. I got AI to summarize a section for me:
“Virginia taxpayers could ultimately be responsible for covering as much as $1.35 billion through a
‘moral obligation’ clause in the proposed legislation.”
When a conservative inserts language like this in a bill it’s a signal that it will 100% wind up being a bailout and/or giveaway to the recipient of the funding.
The problem with AI is it either hallucinates or misses valuable analysis of a situation.
I recommend reading articles and actual analysis done by third party firms about the deal. Because it was found that even if revenue from the stadium was way under estimates, it would still pay for all the bonds.
Damn we hate Republicans so much that we don't like tax breaks for all Virginians and better pay for teachers and federal workers? I mean fuck the guy but this isn't just what youngkin wants I'm pretty sure everyone in VA wants this.
I would love some tax relief personally, but in the interest of playing devil’s advocate, have we fixed Richmond’s water treatment plant? Have we funded WMATA obligations for the next few years? Do the Monitor and Hampton Roads tunnels have deferred maintenance that needs to be taken care of? Do we need to fund research of the cancer cluster in SWVA? Can we improve rail between Richmond and NoVA? I don’t know the answers to those questions, but are we collectively shooting ourselves in the foot by using that $730M for tax breaks rather than infrastructure and EHS initiatives?
ETA: I recognize that, from the article, the bulk of this comes from compliance with federal tax breaks on OT and tips as well as bonuses for teachers.
So because some cities or localities decided to fuck up their own infrastructure, that means the rest of the people in the state don't deserve a tax break?
I get what you’re saying, I really do. But with the exception of Richmond’s water, none of the other things I listed are an example of localities “fucking up their own infrastructure.” As for the water treatment woes, I would gladly forgo a small tax break so thousands and thousands of people can have clean drinking water.
Some of us still believe that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
That being said, here are some things that I do NOT want my tax dollars being used for - further subsidies for data centers in Loudon, more ridiculous toll/express lanes that do nothing to help traffic and make private corporations rich, lobbying and fighting against regulated sale of cannabis in the state, subsidies for billionaire-owned sports complexes, etc.
Yep, 2%, which is less than CPI, which doesn't even properly factor in housing g costs. So technically it's a decline in buying power. It's weird to brag about a budget that lowers quality of life.
You realize MOST localities only match the state? They have to at least match the states 2% increase or those teachers in that district get 0%. And with the cost of healthcare likely to go up another 3%, MOST teachers in the state will only get a 1% pay increase.
2% is a kick in the teeth for teachers!!!
Other state employees don't get anything on top of the 2% though. And we don't get any performance bonuses or raises, or anything like that. Our managers and agency directors have no control over it - beyond getting promoted, whatever the state budget passes is the only thing we get.
Which is why so many teams across so many agencies are super understaffed. When you can only get a 2-3% raise on an already well-below-market salary, after a couple years many people have to jump ship to make ends meet. Especially the past few years when inflation has far outpaced that amount. (Official #s don't show the understaffing because if a position isn't filled in a certain amount of time, they just remove it from the org charts completely, so it's no longer considered an unfilled position).
4% over 2 years with inflation equals a pay cut. Luckily this budget will almost certainly be thrown out by the GA and a more reasonable one will be passed.
I don’t want tax breaks, we just saw a recent rebate and the whole philosophy of ‘always cut taxes the moment there’s an inch of slack’ has already messed this country up.
Speaking as someone who gets a lot of their annual disposable income from tips (seasonal second job) it’s really stupid policy to eliminate taxes on them, and just another example of Youngkin caring more about auditioning to be Trump’s ambassador to Belgium than sensibly doing his current job.
Besides they I do think federal workers and teachers should get more, but apparently being in that I'm one of those my opinion apparently doesn't matter, really crazy to get downvoted for wanting my fellow teachers and federal workers to get a slight raise.
Edited to add: I know you’re really talking about state employees but when you’re repeatedly referring to them as “federal workers,” it’s hard to take your opinion seriously. And I agree that they deserve more - which is why the raises/bonuses likely won’t be removed from the budget.
Also it’s 2% for each fiscal year, not just one salary increase.
Can he just shut up and go away? He just talks to hear his own voice... everyone is tired of his bullshit, even the people who voted him in are sick of his virtue signaling.
Didn’t we have a surplus last year? If so, then cuts to what the citizens have to pay in taxes should be cut. I don’t see how increasing taxes will benefit anyone in the middle class.
Youngkin laid a baited trap and the Democrats are about to get hit by it and are going to do the polar opposite and cause themselves quite a few seats in the next GA election.
Dems need to stop being mosquitos and start cutting taxes. The kings of wasting money on bs. Enough of the boot licking. Give the money and power back to the people and make the governemnt fucking small.
That would only matter if dems didnt increase spending further each time they were in office. They dont advocate against higher spending they do the opposite. Socialists like aoc want to double spending with terrible ideas like the green new deal. Btw fiscally responsible people like independents and rand paul rail against spending. Bill Clinton was the last dem to understand fiscal conservatism. They are the only people who understand the consequences of radical spending. If your argument is well they did this, well yeah they are wrong too. Trump is a moron. Youngkin ran a surplus on cutting fraud and wastefulness. There should be more spending cuts and tax cuts. Unfortunately, soanberger isnt going to do any of those. And we likely won't see a budget surplus in the future cuz they view people as their piggy bank.
Why do they have to increase spending? Bc the cuts are for the poor people. The wealthy already have a race to the top, and the ones making under 150k or don’t own a business are getting shafted.
We spent decades with mostly Dem leadership in Congress, 1930s-1980. After WWII, the needed growth of infrastructure required deficit spending. We had it until the 70s. That was when we got regulations to protect people from corporations trying to reduce costs and using ingredients in products that they knew could kill or harm people. Lead based paint, asbestos, etc. Reagan focused on cutting costs, and since infrastructure was okay then, nobody paid attention to it.
Clinton was the last president who tried to make it work and a Congress that wanted the same thing. After that, we had Dubya (9/11, war on terror spending, patriot act, reduction of regulations, housing bubble, financial crisis), Obama (clean up of regulations, housing bubble bust, financial crisis), Trump (failed tariffs, deregulation, corporate focus, covid), Biden (covid clean up, inflation from global economic reopening, re-regulation, infrastructure spending that hadn’t been a focus since the 70s)…
To the best of my knowledge, Virginia and all 7 other commonwealths must have a balanced budget in order to be considered a commonwealth, and any years with shortfalls must be followed by a year with a surplus in that amount.
I wish they would wise up and realize the tax increase needs to be on capital gains, borrowing money on assets at a stupid low rate and not increase it on income. Actual rich people don’t make money from a 9-5.
Capital gains is taxed highly. You want people to save for retirement and grow their money. The government needs to cut spending. Not destroy the retirement for over 60% of adults
Retirement accounts aren’t taxed until after people reach retirement age, at which point they have a greatly reduced tax rate. You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about, you’re just spouting idiotic conservative talking points with zero subject matter knowledge.
The first part of your statement is factually false I’m afraid. If you withdraw from your pretax 401k before 59 1/2 years old you pay income tax and an additional 10% penalty.
Also, if you do not withdraw a certain percentage of your 401k starting at age 73 or 75 (depends on year of birth), you can pay penalties up to 25% of what you did not take out. Yes - they force you to withdraw a certain amount each year at these ages to ensure you pay your taxes.
Also the tax rate is NOT greatly reduced - you pay the standard income tax for your tax bracket unless you are withdrawing from a Roth
This a joke? Democrats kept in pandemic level spending lol the only fiscally responsible people in the government are fiscal conservatives. Inflstion never came down to 2 percent because of the inflstion reduction act. Supply chain issues figured themselves out snd the wasteful government kept spending money. New gov is gonna come in and waste more money. In fact, dems want to increase spending from where it is now. Trump isnt a fiscal conservative.
Ahhh more stupidity. Putting power and money back to the people and away from politicians like trump and the socialist party makes the country safer and more secure. People suffer less. Inflation would be lower. Housing interest rates would drop cuz the treasury yields would drop. Life for everyone would be so much better. The value of the dollar would be worth more. But sure you want to boot lick and take away money and power from the people. Trump is powerful because politicians want more power snd money to themselves. If they worked for the people, trump would be helpless. Democrats policies resulted in trump getting elected. Its their fault for putting up shit candidates and policies. If moderates and independents had a bigger voice, the world would be in a much better place.
Literally every form of government wastes money. Inefficiency is the biggest. I know this from talking with department leaders who make spending decisions based on allocated funds. Their goal is to soend all the money allocated then ask for more. There is no motivation to run the government like a business has. Fraud snd inefficiency run wild. Virginia is one of the best run states. They have no excuse not to cut taxes and make peoples lives better. They need to increase housing supply, not put restrictions on housing cuz that increases costs. Theres no excuse for taxes to be this high
Ill give you one. Spanbegers budget idea for fixing the housing unaffordability will fall flat because it doesnt motivate construction companies to build. Itll end up wasted money. High cost for a little amount of construction. Her ideas aren't new or fresh. We've seen how housing over reaching regulations make places like new york and chicago unaffordable and they are as leftist as it gets. Our government runs a surplus. Theres no need for taxes to be higher we should cut taxes. Eliminate waste and fraud like normal businesses do and you'll decrease spending. We need to incentivize construction companies to build a lot of condos and apartments to solve the housing supply issue. It also won't fully resolve without trump cutting tariffs snd decrease federal soending cuz mortgage rates follow the 10 year t. She's already admitted that funding for her programs may not be fully funded so we can assume more waste will come without meaningful change. The billions extra won't move the needle except take money away from peoples pockets. Youngkin increased the budget from 83 billion in 2023 to the proposed 95 billion. Soanberger didnt release her number cuz its gonna be way higher. Huge increases with no meaningful change to life. Spanberger is ready to add to it. All the spending that happens in dem states yet they are the ones who suffer the most from unaffordability. When you advocate for bigger government, people aren't empowered to make it themselves. They suffer.
You dont have it right. You're unedcuated for thinking like a 1st grader. People have money to eat and we should cut spending snd taxes to give them more money in their pockets. The government is wildy irresponsible and people should decide where their money goes
lol, you’re thinking like a first grader if you think taxes are what causes people to go hungry. The government is wildly irresponsible when they fund shit like ICE and overfund the military but give shitty care to veterans. It’s not irresponsible to provide people with money that can only be spent on food, or to give them access to healthcare. It’s not irresponsible to fund cancer research, roads, libraries or schools. You think saving a couple hundred dollars will make you rich, meanwhile the government does nothing to make sure that the ultra wealthy pay their fair share, that’s what’s irresponsible.
It is taxes and government spending. Taxes takeaway money directly from the people. Literally everything we do is taxed. Inflation comes from overspending and an increase in money supply. Why do you think inflstion never came down to 2% or below after biden inflation reduction plan? Its because the plan didnt help Inflation at all. Supply chain issues resolved themselves when the world opened back up. The outrageous government soending was the nail in the coffin on prices. Then whe. You add overregulation and tax tariffs, you get more price increases and inflation. Thats why people are suffering. No one said it was irresponsible to do any of those things. If you've worked with leaders of departments in the government, you would understand they dont care about inefficiency. They want to max out their budget then ask for me. Theres no incentive to cut spending. If you want people to have more financial freedom, then the government must cut taxes and spending. Otherwise you should assume these new prices of goods is the new bottom and next year itll be higher. When dems takeover, itll be even higher then cuz they love over spending. The socialists ask for spending to double. Your response is rittle with non sense no one is advocating for. You can responsibility and research funding. You can fund snap with minimal fraud. You can have Healthcare with minimal fraud but nooooo the government doesnt do that. Bidens spending plans were awful and so is trumps. Trump got elected because democrat policies are fucking awful. We need moderates and independents to take the reigns. You guys aren't capable of making the correct economic decisions and you resulted in trump twice. Democrats have run Chicago Seattle and New York into the ground. We have done the experiment done when liberals hold power decades. The most unaffordable places are run by democrats. Its the democrats party's fault for getting trump elected. Any moderate or slightly competent option would have beaten trump. It was the easiest election to win ever and you fucking blew it.
Not at all. Thats why you are incapable of making a quality response. You aren't smart enough to understand the issues. Why are dem run places more unaffordable than red places? Why did trump get elected when people hate him? Cuz dem policies were failures and continue to be. Why does new york and chciago suffer so much?
"expected harsh impacts from the Trump administration have not materialized."
Says fucking who? Prices are outrageous, our farmers and ports are struggling under the tariffs, NOVA nearly had its economic engine gutted, and now Trump and co are threatening the largest offshore wind farm planned in the country at a time when data centers are driving up our energy costs.
And "strong job growth?", our growth has slowed considerably since just last year. In 2024 our state averaged around 6k jobs added per month. It barely breached 1000 in 2025, and that was compounded by huge losses of federal jobs.
ODU put out their yearly report on the state of the Commonwealth. Trade is down, prices up, unemployment is expected to hit 4.0, tourism is down...
Youngkin and Co have their heads so far up their own asses that they can see last weeks breakfast.
Not even to mention tourism decline nationally and statewide
They really do believe if they just keep up the messaging that there aren’t really any negatives in Trumps economy and it’s all just some liberal, woke, DEI hoax that they can steal just a bit more money from their peasants..
Wepl theres a good reason republicans lost hard this state election
Fairfax alone is in a 300 million budget shortfall partially due to trump and his disruptive bullshit
I never understood why Youngkin, giving the fact he had to work democrats, knowing that he wants to rise up in the ranks, why couldn’t he just find some ways to work with Democrats to help them pass some things that they wanted , then he would have the ability to shape it a little and take credit so that he could get something out of that. But not to work with the party in control just seems to be weird politics that goes nowhere.
This man thinks he’s owed some concessions when legislature isn’t his when he was by far the most veto wielding governor in the first year when he controlled the house of delegates. How do you veto so many bipartisan bills your delegates had to vote and want
My friend is in the Senate. She says that despite everything the Ds and a pretty good relationship with the Rs in Richmond. So yeah, our house and Senate work together (mostly), but the Governor is a putz.
I moved to VA a few years back, and the cooperative legislature here makes my old state's look like a hyperpartisan rabble. How Youngkin has nothing to show for his tenure is a mystery.
The true test comes next year. I suspect the cooperation of former years dies soon.
They can get fucked, their cooperation is not necessary to move forward and any Trump sycophants are traitors to this nation and irrelevant to the discussion anyways. Virginia is back on track to advance properly into the future now that this dickhead is on his way out the door.
lol. Love the passion. :)
dude was grown in a test tube by the Heritage Foundation. he moves per their instructions.
Youngkin is wealthy. Very wealthy.
At his level of wealth, prior to entering politics, he never hears the word “no”. He just says “Do X” or “I want Y” and it’s done or delivered because he has money.
He’s never had to negotiate with people on equal footing before, and after four years in office, it’s very clear he still doesn’t know how.
I never understood why Youngkin, giving the fact he had to work democrats, knowing that he wants to rise up in the ranks, why couldn’t he just find some ways to work with Democrats to help them pass some things that they wanted , then he would have the ability to shape it a little and take credit so that he could get something out of that. But not to work with the party in control just seems to be weird politics that goes nowhere.
Yeah, this kind of what happened to the stadium deal. There was a complete run around of the key democratic player on the committee that has to sign off. They did not include her in the discussions and negotiations, knowing they needed her buy in, and that they could run over her. And she said no.
I love Lucas, and all her memes on Twitter.
Because he wants to cull favor to his orange overload. If he tries to cut deals it makes him look weak…even though the ruse is “deal maker” it’s not what they want to convey because it’s not strength.
Isn’t it obvious? He wins as either trashing the place on the way out but convincing everyone republicans are generous because goldfish memory, OR he wins convincing everyone he’d have been generous if not for the democrats, because goldfish memory.
No, you've got it all wrong, the playbook says to oppose Democrats at every turn, and then take the credit anyway.
He did try that. Or do you people not remember the whole stadium situation? He was willing to negotiate stuff like the legalized recreational sales and minimum wage increases, yet Democrats in the state Senate didn't want to give any appearance of a "win" on that.
Refresh my memory, didn’t that stadium deal involve billions of dollars in tax incentives? If I’m remembering correctly, that sounds like a really good reason not to do it.
From what I remember, they were using bonds to pay for it and revenue from Monumental plus stadium events to pay the bonds back.
Ah, yes. I remember now, the language of the bill for the stadium contained zero consequences for failing to meet the extremely optimistic revenue goals. I got AI to summarize a section for me:
“Virginia taxpayers could ultimately be responsible for covering as much as $1.35 billion through a ‘moral obligation’ clause in the proposed legislation.”
When a conservative inserts language like this in a bill it’s a signal that it will 100% wind up being a bailout and/or giveaway to the recipient of the funding.
The problem with AI is it either hallucinates or misses valuable analysis of a situation.
I recommend reading articles and actual analysis done by third party firms about the deal. Because it was found that even if revenue from the stadium was way under estimates, it would still pay for all the bonds.
Youngkin never indicated any willingness to negotiate on a recreational cannabis marketplace.
Never.
Don’t believe me? Google it.
Yes he did, Sen. Lucas just refused to actually negotiate due to partisan reasons.
Oh bullshit.
Youngkin wanted his stadium.
Lucas offered to negotiate on that if Youngkin would negotiate on recreational cannabis.
Youngkin said no.
If you disagree, provide evidence that Youngkin was willing to negotiate on a recreational cannabis market. I’ll wait.
You have it backwards. Youngkin offered Democratic priorities like weed and minimum wage during the negotiations, and Democrats said no.
You don't have to wait long. You could have even googled that to find out.
He was never going to sign that bill ever. Any attempt to deny that he was a 4 year hard no is bullshit.
Saying he was open to negotiation on that us just stupidity on your part.
You asked for proof and you got it. Sorry that your priors don't align with the reality on this topic.
Who tf cares what Youngkin wants
It’s the way that our Constitution (stupidly) works - the outgoing Governor writes a budget that is a poison pill for the next administration.
And it’s all performative. Because now they’ll be able to say “Democrats raised your taxes” even if there’s not a single new tax passed this session.
Damn we hate Republicans so much that we don't like tax breaks for all Virginians and better pay for teachers and federal workers? I mean fuck the guy but this isn't just what youngkin wants I'm pretty sure everyone in VA wants this.
I would love some tax relief personally, but in the interest of playing devil’s advocate, have we fixed Richmond’s water treatment plant? Have we funded WMATA obligations for the next few years? Do the Monitor and Hampton Roads tunnels have deferred maintenance that needs to be taken care of? Do we need to fund research of the cancer cluster in SWVA? Can we improve rail between Richmond and NoVA? I don’t know the answers to those questions, but are we collectively shooting ourselves in the foot by using that $730M for tax breaks rather than infrastructure and EHS initiatives?
ETA: I recognize that, from the article, the bulk of this comes from compliance with federal tax breaks on OT and tips as well as bonuses for teachers.
So because some cities or localities decided to fuck up their own infrastructure, that means the rest of the people in the state don't deserve a tax break?
I get what you’re saying, I really do. But with the exception of Richmond’s water, none of the other things I listed are an example of localities “fucking up their own infrastructure.” As for the water treatment woes, I would gladly forgo a small tax break so thousands and thousands of people can have clean drinking water.
Some of us still believe that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
That being said, here are some things that I do NOT want my tax dollars being used for - further subsidies for data centers in Loudon, more ridiculous toll/express lanes that do nothing to help traffic and make private corporations rich, lobbying and fighting against regulated sale of cannabis in the state, subsidies for billionaire-owned sports complexes, etc.
Better pay???? A measly 2% one time bonus and then a whole year until a measly 2% pay increase and you call that better pay?
Yep, 2%, which is less than CPI, which doesn't even properly factor in housing g costs. So technically it's a decline in buying power. It's weird to brag about a budget that lowers quality of life.
Localities usually add onto the state increases. It's not just 2%. Last year the state did 3% and Henrico did 6%. They got a 9% raise last year.
You mean all teachers got a 2%, and only Henrico teachers got 9% because the county added 6%.
Sure in this example. Other localities likely had other rates of increases. The compensation increases are not just from the state.
That's irrelevant if you're not a teacher. You know there are lots of state employees right?
You know this thread is about teachers right?
You realize MOST localities only match the state? They have to at least match the states 2% increase or those teachers in that district get 0%. And with the cost of healthcare likely to go up another 3%, MOST teachers in the state will only get a 1% pay increase. 2% is a kick in the teeth for teachers!!!
Other state employees don't get anything on top of the 2% though. And we don't get any performance bonuses or raises, or anything like that. Our managers and agency directors have no control over it - beyond getting promoted, whatever the state budget passes is the only thing we get.
Which is why so many teams across so many agencies are super understaffed. When you can only get a 2-3% raise on an already well-below-market salary, after a couple years many people have to jump ship to make ends meet. Especially the past few years when inflation has far outpaced that amount. (Official #s don't show the understaffing because if a position isn't filled in a certain amount of time, they just remove it from the org charts completely, so it's no longer considered an unfilled position).
Most people would consider a 4% increase in their salary to be better pay.
4% over 2 years with inflation equals a pay cut. Luckily this budget will almost certainly be thrown out by the GA and a more reasonable one will be passed.
Inflation is at like 2.7%, so not a cut.
The raise is 2% this year, less than 2.7%.
I mean 2% is 2%, 2 is bigger than 0, yeah should be more.
It doesn't even keep pace with inflation.
I don’t want tax breaks, we just saw a recent rebate and the whole philosophy of ‘always cut taxes the moment there’s an inch of slack’ has already messed this country up.
Speaking as someone who gets a lot of their annual disposable income from tips (seasonal second job) it’s really stupid policy to eliminate taxes on them, and just another example of Youngkin caring more about auditioning to be Trump’s ambassador to Belgium than sensibly doing his current job.
I miss the genuine fiscal conservatives.
Okay cool but some of us do. If you want to keep paying more taxes, you are free to send more to the state yourself.
Speaking as someone who gets a lot of their annual disposable income from a salary, it's really good policy to eliminate taxes on it.
Besides they I do think federal workers and teachers should get more, but apparently being in that I'm one of those my opinion apparently doesn't matter, really crazy to get downvoted for wanting my fellow teachers and federal workers to get a slight raise.
Federal workers?
Damn you’re just spewing nonsense.
Edited to add: I know you’re really talking about state employees but when you’re repeatedly referring to them as “federal workers,” it’s hard to take your opinion seriously. And I agree that they deserve more - which is why the raises/bonuses likely won’t be removed from the budget.
Also it’s 2% for each fiscal year, not just one salary increase.
Meant state worker my bad.
What you’ve just described is deficit spending. No, we don’t like that.
Virginia and Washington DC depend on foreign tourism. All of it is drying up.
This includes group tours to our historic districts from Williamsburg to DC, Civil War Battlefields, and our beautiful national & state parks.
Canadians are no longer wintering in Fla. All those hotels and supports on I-95 are seeing less income.
This current federal administration has dramatically impacted our Virginia economy.
They’re opening up their income possibilities wink, wink
Can he just shut up and go away? He just talks to hear his own voice... everyone is tired of his bullshit, even the people who voted him in are sick of his virtue signaling.
Judging by his approval rating, I don’t think that last part is true
I dunno, some of my red leaning friends have been complaining about him and kiggins of late.. but maybe that's just my circle of friends...
$730mil? GTFOH here glennard
Didn’t we have a surplus last year? If so, then cuts to what the citizens have to pay in taxes should be cut. I don’t see how increasing taxes will benefit anyone in the middle class.
Youngkin laid a baited trap and the Democrats are about to get hit by it and are going to do the polar opposite and cause themselves quite a few seats in the next GA election.
Dems need to stop being mosquitos and start cutting taxes. The kings of wasting money on bs. Enough of the boot licking. Give the money and power back to the people and make the governemnt fucking small.
Let me just take a look at the chart of largest contributors to the deficit here and… Yeah. All Republicans at the top.
That would only matter if dems didnt increase spending further each time they were in office. They dont advocate against higher spending they do the opposite. Socialists like aoc want to double spending with terrible ideas like the green new deal. Btw fiscally responsible people like independents and rand paul rail against spending. Bill Clinton was the last dem to understand fiscal conservatism. They are the only people who understand the consequences of radical spending. If your argument is well they did this, well yeah they are wrong too. Trump is a moron. Youngkin ran a surplus on cutting fraud and wastefulness. There should be more spending cuts and tax cuts. Unfortunately, soanberger isnt going to do any of those. And we likely won't see a budget surplus in the future cuz they view people as their piggy bank.
Why do they have to increase spending? Bc the cuts are for the poor people. The wealthy already have a race to the top, and the ones making under 150k or don’t own a business are getting shafted.
We spent decades with mostly Dem leadership in Congress, 1930s-1980. After WWII, the needed growth of infrastructure required deficit spending. We had it until the 70s. That was when we got regulations to protect people from corporations trying to reduce costs and using ingredients in products that they knew could kill or harm people. Lead based paint, asbestos, etc. Reagan focused on cutting costs, and since infrastructure was okay then, nobody paid attention to it.
Clinton was the last president who tried to make it work and a Congress that wanted the same thing. After that, we had Dubya (9/11, war on terror spending, patriot act, reduction of regulations, housing bubble, financial crisis), Obama (clean up of regulations, housing bubble bust, financial crisis), Trump (failed tariffs, deregulation, corporate focus, covid), Biden (covid clean up, inflation from global economic reopening, re-regulation, infrastructure spending that hadn’t been a focus since the 70s)…
To the best of my knowledge, Virginia and all 7 other commonwealths must have a balanced budget in order to be considered a commonwealth, and any years with shortfalls must be followed by a year with a surplus in that amount.
No. We need to tax the wealthy like it’s the 1950’s.
I wish they would wise up and realize the tax increase needs to be on capital gains, borrowing money on assets at a stupid low rate and not increase it on income. Actual rich people don’t make money from a 9-5.
Capital gains is taxed highly. You want people to save for retirement and grow their money. The government needs to cut spending. Not destroy the retirement for over 60% of adults
Retirement accounts aren’t taxed until after people reach retirement age, at which point they have a greatly reduced tax rate. You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about, you’re just spouting idiotic conservative talking points with zero subject matter knowledge.
The first part of your statement is factually false I’m afraid. If you withdraw from your pretax 401k before 59 1/2 years old you pay income tax and an additional 10% penalty.
Also, if you do not withdraw a certain percentage of your 401k starting at age 73 or 75 (depends on year of birth), you can pay penalties up to 25% of what you did not take out. Yes - they force you to withdraw a certain amount each year at these ages to ensure you pay your taxes.
Also the tax rate is NOT greatly reduced - you pay the standard income tax for your tax bracket unless you are withdrawing from a Roth
A 40% effective tax rate? Wouldn't be much if a change. High income earners who make money from their salary pay 45%. Just fuck people more.
Nah, sorry, you've forfeited your right to this argument.
This a joke? Democrats kept in pandemic level spending lol the only fiscally responsible people in the government are fiscal conservatives. Inflstion never came down to 2 percent because of the inflstion reduction act. Supply chain issues figured themselves out snd the wasteful government kept spending money. New gov is gonna come in and waste more money. In fact, dems want to increase spending from where it is now. Trump isnt a fiscal conservative.
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Ahhh more stupidity. Putting power and money back to the people and away from politicians like trump and the socialist party makes the country safer and more secure. People suffer less. Inflation would be lower. Housing interest rates would drop cuz the treasury yields would drop. Life for everyone would be so much better. The value of the dollar would be worth more. But sure you want to boot lick and take away money and power from the people. Trump is powerful because politicians want more power snd money to themselves. If they worked for the people, trump would be helpless. Democrats policies resulted in trump getting elected. Its their fault for putting up shit candidates and policies. If moderates and independents had a bigger voice, the world would be in a much better place.
Ok, I’ll bite what are we wasting money on in Virginia?
Literally every form of government wastes money. Inefficiency is the biggest. I know this from talking with department leaders who make spending decisions based on allocated funds. Their goal is to soend all the money allocated then ask for more. There is no motivation to run the government like a business has. Fraud snd inefficiency run wild. Virginia is one of the best run states. They have no excuse not to cut taxes and make peoples lives better. They need to increase housing supply, not put restrictions on housing cuz that increases costs. Theres no excuse for taxes to be this high
Ok, so just the general libertarian argument; no specific examples?
Ill give you one. Spanbegers budget idea for fixing the housing unaffordability will fall flat because it doesnt motivate construction companies to build. Itll end up wasted money. High cost for a little amount of construction. Her ideas aren't new or fresh. We've seen how housing over reaching regulations make places like new york and chicago unaffordable and they are as leftist as it gets. Our government runs a surplus. Theres no need for taxes to be higher we should cut taxes. Eliminate waste and fraud like normal businesses do and you'll decrease spending. We need to incentivize construction companies to build a lot of condos and apartments to solve the housing supply issue. It also won't fully resolve without trump cutting tariffs snd decrease federal soending cuz mortgage rates follow the 10 year t. She's already admitted that funding for her programs may not be fully funded so we can assume more waste will come without meaningful change. The billions extra won't move the needle except take money away from peoples pockets. Youngkin increased the budget from 83 billion in 2023 to the proposed 95 billion. Soanberger didnt release her number cuz its gonna be way higher. Huge increases with no meaningful change to life. Spanberger is ready to add to it. All the spending that happens in dem states yet they are the ones who suffer the most from unaffordability. When you advocate for bigger government, people aren't empowered to make it themselves. They suffer.
So let’s see if I have this right.
Money to feed people=waste
Money to pay bonuses to gravy seals kidnapping children=absolute necessity
You dont have it right. You're unedcuated for thinking like a 1st grader. People have money to eat and we should cut spending snd taxes to give them more money in their pockets. The government is wildy irresponsible and people should decide where their money goes
lol, you’re thinking like a first grader if you think taxes are what causes people to go hungry. The government is wildly irresponsible when they fund shit like ICE and overfund the military but give shitty care to veterans. It’s not irresponsible to provide people with money that can only be spent on food, or to give them access to healthcare. It’s not irresponsible to fund cancer research, roads, libraries or schools. You think saving a couple hundred dollars will make you rich, meanwhile the government does nothing to make sure that the ultra wealthy pay their fair share, that’s what’s irresponsible.
It is taxes and government spending. Taxes takeaway money directly from the people. Literally everything we do is taxed. Inflation comes from overspending and an increase in money supply. Why do you think inflstion never came down to 2% or below after biden inflation reduction plan? Its because the plan didnt help Inflation at all. Supply chain issues resolved themselves when the world opened back up. The outrageous government soending was the nail in the coffin on prices. Then whe. You add overregulation and tax tariffs, you get more price increases and inflation. Thats why people are suffering. No one said it was irresponsible to do any of those things. If you've worked with leaders of departments in the government, you would understand they dont care about inefficiency. They want to max out their budget then ask for me. Theres no incentive to cut spending. If you want people to have more financial freedom, then the government must cut taxes and spending. Otherwise you should assume these new prices of goods is the new bottom and next year itll be higher. When dems takeover, itll be even higher then cuz they love over spending. The socialists ask for spending to double. Your response is rittle with non sense no one is advocating for. You can responsibility and research funding. You can fund snap with minimal fraud. You can have Healthcare with minimal fraud but nooooo the government doesnt do that. Bidens spending plans were awful and so is trumps. Trump got elected because democrat policies are fucking awful. We need moderates and independents to take the reigns. You guys aren't capable of making the correct economic decisions and you resulted in trump twice. Democrats have run Chicago Seattle and New York into the ground. We have done the experiment done when liberals hold power decades. The most unaffordable places are run by democrats. Its the democrats party's fault for getting trump elected. Any moderate or slightly competent option would have beaten trump. It was the easiest election to win ever and you fucking blew it.
lol, bro, you completely lost the plot
Not at all. Thats why you are incapable of making a quality response. You aren't smart enough to understand the issues. Why are dem run places more unaffordable than red places? Why did trump get elected when people hate him? Cuz dem policies were failures and continue to be. Why does new york and chciago suffer so much?