For anyone who thinks that Bob McDonnell actually has a plan for transportation, or that whatever he says he'll do on transportation makes any sense whatsoever, this editorial is a must read. Here are the key points.1. The "plan" is no "plan" at all, as it "relies on wildly optimistic assumptions, brazen exaggerations, gauzy projections and far-off scenarios: budget surpluses and revenue growth that may not materialize; interstate tolls that the federal government may not approve; royalties from offshore oil and gas wells that may not be drilled; borrowing that the state may not be able to afford anytime soon." So much for that!
2. The $500 million McDonnell promises he'd raise from selling off Virginia's liquor stores is an "invented" number or, "worse, an intentional distortion." In fact, the $500 million figure comes from a report issues 7 years ago that "said Virginia might save $500 million by streamlining state government and made 16 recommendations for how to go about it." Just 1 of those 16 recommendations had to do with privatizing liquor stores, and there certainly was no implication that doing that alone would raise anywhere near $500 million. As the Post points out, "The last states to sell off their liquor monopolies -- Iowa, West Virginia and Ohio -- didn't get anything close to that." Again, Bob McDonnell is either inventing this stuff or intentionally distorting (aka, "lying").
3. Even worse, privatizing the liquor stores would deprive Virginia of $103 million in annual revenues, money that goes to the general fund to "support programs in mental health, substance abuse and other human services." So, the Post concludes, "McDonnell is proposing to cut $103 million" from "programs in mental health, substance abuse and other human services." Greeeeaaaat.
4. The Post concludes that the McDonnell transportation "plan" - using the word very loosely - "crumbles under close scrutiny." For anyone out there thinking that McDonnell has a plan, let alone a realistic one, for fixing Virginia's transportation infrastructure, you might want to go to one of those liquor stores and buy yourself a bottle of something good, because you're going to need it - badly - if McDonnell gets elected! Heh.
