Economy

Reduce expences by eliminating annual budgets.  Department managers who receive a flat budget are allowed to spend it, regardless of need. 

Go one year with a zero-based budget, and see what departments really need.

In the past year the Virginia General Assembly has been stalemate in trying to figure out how to raise funds to build roads, bridges, etc. It's like playing chess with yourself and wondering why the game is a draw every time. Can I offer a few suggestions?

1.) Raise the excise tax on cigarettes. Curently, Virginia ranks 47th with ONLY a .30 cents tax per pack of smokes. Compare that to New Jersey that pays $2.58 excise tax per pack - the highest in the country. Why not raise our tax .20 - .30 cents? Cha-Ching!!!

Let's stop waiting for the federal government to take action and put some preventive measures in at the state level to prevent the mortgage crisis from happening again.  Forbid the usage of 1- 3- & 5-year ARMs for home financing unless one can provide documentation proving that the buyer can make the balloon payments, not just the low early payments.  In those short periods of time, it is unreasonable to assume that someone will increase their income enough to afford the balloon payment if they initially cannot afford them.

I am a state employee who is married and does not plain to have children.  I have not been with the state long enough to accumulate more time than I know what to do with.  I am fortunate to have a spouse that has better insurance than the state and makes double of what I make.  Therefore I do not take out state benefits.  I think that there should be an incentive for those who do not need state insurance.  I would also like to be allowed to take off from work (Schedule and staff permitting) without a federal case being made about LWOP.  I am a financially secur

I would like to see that state start using more P-14's.  I was a P-14 when I started out with the state.  It would save

money as there would be no benfits offered. 

At all VA state agencies: (a) implement an immediate hiring freeze (b) and, lower the budget for each state agency by 20%, no exceptions (c) lower the state income tax

Our first premise:  Virginia gave birth to the Internet.  Why shouldn't Virginia give birth to how the Internet is protected?  
 

Our second premise:  Since half the world is training their young people on how to tear down or destroy America's critical infrastructures - why shouldn't we be teaching our young people how to protect our critical infrastructures?