PRESS RELEASE: Opportunity Virginia––
Dear Friend,
Monday, I presented my biennial budget for FY 2013 and FY 2014 to the Joint Money Committees of the General Assembly. The budget is focused on getting more Virginians back to work by investing in core functions of government like transportation and education, and reforming our state government to make it more efficient, effective, and user-friendly to taxpayers – all while not raising taxes. The budget contains new revenue, but it is new revenue that is generated the right way, not through raising taxes, but rather through growing our economy and getting more Virginians back to work.
It’s the same formula we’ve followed since taking office in January of 2010: We have made state government live within its means, and balanced two consecutive budgets by reducing state spending to 2007 levels and not raising taxes. We have turned $6 billion in budget shortfalls into nearly $1 billion in surpluses. We have made historic investments in the Commonwealth’s transportation and higher education systems, and we have not raised taxes on the hardworking Virginians who invest in and grow our economy, and create more good-paying, private sector jobs.
This formula is working, and so are more Virginians.
Yesterday we learned that Virginia’s unemployment rate has dropped from 6.4% to 6.2% – the third-lowest unemployment rate east of the Mississippi, and the lowest in the Southeast by a large margin. And today, I was very pleased to make the single largest jobs announcement in Virginia since 2004: Amazon.com – one of the world’s largest online retailers – is investing $135 million to open two fulfillment centers in Virginia, creating over 1,350 new, good-paying jobs in the process! This is a big win for the greater Richmond area and the Commonwealth as a whole.
VIDEO: Watch my interview on Fox Business Network about the 2013-14 budget!
Read more about our major Amazon.com jobs announcement!
While we have made some great progress over the last two years, there is still a lot of work left to do. Over 250,000 Virginians still can’t find work. That is heartbreaking and that is unacceptable.
That is why our proposed budget continues making the same tough choices and setting the same priorities as our previous fiscal proposals. We will not raise taxes. We know that is not the way you create jobs and grow an economy.
Virginia citizens and businesses live on budgets and make tough decisions every day. Richmond must continue to do so as well. Our budget helps solve big problems. We are stabilizing our pension system, improving our transportation infrastructure, making our public education system more innovative, providing the tools our teachers, parents and students need and deserve, and increasing access to and the affordability of our higher education system. And we are saving state dollars for our Rainy Day Fund and other areas to give the Commonwealth liquidity as we continue to navigate this uncertain economy. This is not a status quo period in Virginia history, and this is not a status quo budget. I believe we need a better government, not a bigger one. It’s what our hardworking taxpayers deserve.
Our formula of responsible, conservative budgeting is working, and we are going to continue to follow it to help our private sector continue to create more jobs and ensure this continues to be a “Commonwealth of Opportunity” for all of our citizens for the next two years and beyond.
I wish you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and a happy Hanukkah, and thank you very much for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Bob McDonnell
Governor of Virginia