Issues
October 14, 2011 JLabor, Education & Pensions
Sen. Roscoe Reynolds (20th District) has served in the Virginia General Assembly either in the House of Delegates or the Senate since Ronald Reagan was president. In that time, Sen. Reynolds has embraced fiscal policies harmful to Virginia families, employers and taxpayers in general.
In addition to supporting the largest tax increase in Virginia history in 2004, Reynolds advocated or voted for a variety of anti-taxpayer and job-killing policies, including:
* Raising income taxes on senior citizens
* Raising the tax on gasoline
* Raising sales taxes paid by employers
* Raising the statewide sales tax and allowing localities to do the same
* Raising vehicle registration fees
* Implementing an Internet sales tax
* Diverting sales tax revenue to fund a baseball stadium in Richmond
*Opposing elimination of the death tax
Sen. Reynolds took all of these positions despite having signed the taxpayer protection pledge sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform.
October 13, 2011 JBudget & Spending
Free-Market Group Condemns Greenpeaces Campaign Against Mercury Paper - Wal-Mart and Kmart Urged Not to Cave to Greenpeace
Americans for Prosperity Virginia (AFP-VA) today blasted Greenpeace USA for its relentless attacks against Virginia families and jobs in its campaign to shutter Mercury Paper and blackmail their partner companies from buying Paseo towels and bath tissue. Working with its partners in the White House and the Democrats on the Capitol Hill, Greenpeace is waging a war against low-cost household products made by hard working Virginians. Most importantly, however, is the Greenpeace and other environmentalists campaign to kill American jobs at a time when further job losses can be least afforded in the U.S. In fact, the Greenpeace action directly threatens more than 150 jobs in Virginia alone.
October 12, 2011 JLabor, Education & Pensions
Over the past 28 years, Sen. Edd Houck (17th District) has supported a number of tax increases that have hurt Virginias working families. In addition to supporting the largest tax increase in Virginia history in 2004, Houck advocated or voted for a variety of anti-taxpayer policies, including:
* Gasoline Tax Increase
* Higher Sales Taxes Paid by Businesses
* Internet Sales Tax
* State and Local Sales Tax Increase
* Dedication of Sales Tax Revenue for a Richmond Baseball Stadium
* Titling Tax for Vehicles
Sen. Houck has also been an opponent of Virginias efforts to achieve energy independence and explore for our own natural resources at home:
* Houck voted against even studying lifting the ban on mining uranium in Virginia, despite the presence of what is believed to be the largest deposit in the nation in Southside Virginia. The extraction of the uranium would bring jobs and commerce to Virginia and supply fuel for electricity generation.
September 27, 2011 JBudget & Spending
As Virginia and the rest of the nation continue to struggle with financial uncertainty, one of the continuing drags on the economy is the consistently high price of energy. Increased fuels costs impact nearly every sector of the marketplace, from the price of filling up your gas tank to buying a loaf of bread at your local supermarket.
While the Obama Administration has declared nearly all-out war on the varied fuel industries, with the rare exceptions of suspect solar and wind power concerns, there are a few areas where there appears to be hope. As Virginia anticipates the sale of leases to explore for energy off its Atlantic coast, the legislature has already moved to put in place a mechanism to use the expected royalties responsibly.
September 22, 2011 JLabor, Education & Pensions
After a lengthy period of silence, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate Tim Kaine has announced that he will indeed support President Barack Obamas plan to raise taxes to fund his ill-advised second attempt at spending his way into economic prosperity.
As history shows, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 squandered nearly $800 billion of taxpayer, showering the funds on suspect yet administration approved solar panel companies and labor union interests. Meanwhile, unemployment still registers at 9.1-percent, the federal debt and deficit are at record levels, and Americas credit rating has been downgraded.
President Obama and those who agree with him are proposing to send good money after bad.
AFP-Virginia state director Trixie Averill today issued the following statement:
