Some people have no shame, but are pretty soft-wittedly brazen at the same time. Virginia has a governor who has the audacity to go on television (FOX Business Network) and smugly
tell the federal government that they could learn a thing or two from Richmond--meaning they could learn competent budgeting from HIM since he supposedly turned an almost $2 billion deficit into a $220 million surplus. Here's where the soft-wittedness comes in. It's all a lie and can easily be checked if people do not just take him at face value. But, McDonnell expects that most people will merely listen to the rhetoric and hail him as a budgeting genius. After all, using mushy rhetoric is how he got elected, and now one has to ask if he cares at all about governing responsibly. In my opinion, he is trying to make a splash (at Virginia's expense) so that he might be picked by the GOP as the next Vice Presidential candidate.
If you are a state employee, you probably already know that McDonnell is deferring the payments to your pension fund this year and in the new budget--and not by small amounts. The state is responsible for paying into their employee pension fund, but McDonnell simply decided not to do it on schedule, meaning that $137 million will not be paid in the last quarter of this year, and over $600 million won't be paid in the next budget cycle. He figures that he will be gone before the state has to live up to its responsibilities and show those liabilities in the budget, but hey, that is for some other governor to worry about. Additionally, it's easy to claim a budget surplus on the backs of the poor. Cut programs for the most needy in the state including medicaid recipients and strain local budgets because localities are having to make up for the cuts to education and social services. And while you are at it, Mr. Transportation Governor, don't enact any transportation initiatives. These 'accounting maneuvers' as they are described by some legislators may make the state look like it has a surplus, but it's just a joke being played on the citizens by a wanton, cynical governor.
It isn't as if some in the media and in the General Assembly haven't cried foul. What we need is for more individuals and organizations and media outlets to call the governor on his tactics. Make him explain in coherent terms, not sound bites, how this is a true surplus. What we need is for our Democratic state senators and delegates to speak the truth to their constituents. Governor McDonnell is committing ethical violations as the official responsible for formulating a budget, and he may even be committing illegal acts. This kind of smoke-and-mirrors budgeting should not stand. The interview on FOX (see link above) should not go unchallenged.