Albo Rejects Ronald Reagan

AMG did a double-take today. There are apparently some people left in the Republican Party who are actually still fiscal conservatives - that is, they believe that the government must actually pay its bills and that "starving the beast" is not a prudent fiscal policy.

It's strange because those who worship, like Del. Dave Albo, Ronald Reagan apparently don't remember him very well. The ideological aburdity of the current crop of Republicans is really starting to play itself out. Check out this statement from President Reagan in 1983:

"Today, as this bill becomes law, America ends a period of decline in her vast and world-famous transportation system. Because of the prompt and bipartisan action of Congress, we can now ensure for our children a special part of their heritage — a network of highways and mass transit that has enabled our commerce to thrive, our country to grow, and our people to roam freely and easily to every corner of our land. . . .

Woeful tales of highway disrepair have become part of the trucking lore. Bridges are crumbling from under us in many of our older cities while growth is being stifled in our newer ones, because the transportation system can’t cope with the expanding population.

“Overall, we have 4,000 miles of Interstate Highway that needs resurfacing and 23,000 bridges that need replacement or repair. Our cities need new buses, new or rebuilt railcars, and track improvements that will cost $50 billion during the next 10 years. Common sense tells us that it will cost a lot less to keep the system we have in good repair than to let it disintegrate and have to start over from scratch. Clearly this program is an investment in tomorrow that we must make today. It will allow us to complete the interstate system, make most — the interstate repairs and strengthen and improve our bridges, make all of us safer, and help our cities meet their public transit needs. . . .

“When we first built our highways, we paid for them with a gas tax, a highway user fee that charged those of us who benefited most from the system. It was a fair concept then, and it is today. But that levy has not been increased in more than 23 years. And it no longer covers expenses. The money for today’s improvements will come from increasing the gas tax, or the highway user fee, by the equivalent of a nickel a gallon — about $30 a year for most motorists.

"That’s why I’m pleased today to sign House resolution 6211, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act for 1982. It will help America enter a brighter and a more prosperous decade ahead. And so saying, and before the bridges fall down, I’ll get this bill signed.”

- President Ronald Reagan, January 6, 1983.

(too bad they didn't act before a bridge fell down this time......) In today's Richmond Times Dispatch, the Editorial Board took it to Del. Dave Albo and the GOP by pointing out that there are some bills to pay and that taxes have to actually increase to pay them.

More Money
Numerous Republicans in the General Assembly concede Virginia must spend more on transportation. GOP legislators embraced the abusive driver fees; they supported a package with regional taxing authorities. This year they have promoted an Offshore Energy Revenue Fund, which would direct royalties from natural gas extracted off Virginia's shores to transportation (and to the cleanup of the Chesapeake, and to programs related to energy). The offshore fund is not a bad idea, although it would not generate significant sums for several years. Senate Democrats played partisan games in summarily dismissing it.

But the larger point is the implicit consensus that transportation revenue must increase beyond the growth built into the existing system. We agree.

And that is why we support hiking the gasoline tax, at the pump. We also say the increase should be offset by reductions in taxes not directly tied to transportation. The next e-mail probably will denounce us as secret Islamofascist terrorists, just like Sen. Barack Obama. Oh, well. That the State Senate approved a plan incorporating many of the proposals we prefer raises the ideological temperatures.

The House of Delegates gutted the Senate bill, and killed Gov. Tim Kaine's proposals.

A case can be made that Virginia should not spend one penny more on transportation than the revenue the structure produces.

A case can be made that demands for maintenance, new construction, and mass transit compel higher taxes related to transporation, such as, principally, the gasoline tax. Such is the position we prefer.

Conservatism properly understood does not rely on gimmicks. Editorial, More Money, Richmond Times Dispatch (July 12, 2008).

So there you have it. AMG and the Richmond Times Dispatch stand arm in arm and AMG has cited President Ronald Reagan in support of an argument. We bring you this picture from down below today.