On Sunday’s ‘Meet the Press’ Governor McAuliffe bragged about his travels around the country to bring businesses to Virginia (and to help elect Hillary Clinton):[read_more]
“I’m one of the nation’s most traveled governors. … I’ve brought business back, I’m all about trade and economic activity.”
Except he hasn’t. We reported yesterday on the rise in unemployment in Virginia.
From Watchdog.org,
Earlier this month, the American Legislative Exchange Council criticized Virginia’s economic environment. The market-oriented group ranked the state’s top marginal corporate income tax rate 31st out of 50 states and gave Virginia a zero on “tax expenditure limits.”
According to economist Chris Chmura Virginia is not in great shape with inflation outstripping wage growth.
Mike Thompson of the bi-partisan Thomas Jefferson Institute for public policy agreed,
“(Virginia’s economy) at best, is simply doing OK.”
“Our state’s status vis-à-vis other states is falling in many categories (including), business competitiveness, manufacturing, etc.,
So ‘roaring’ is a sales pitch definition by our state’s top salesman — Governor McAuliffe — and not reality,” Thompson told Watchdog. “What we need is a creative, revenue-neutral tax restructuring that would eliminate our gross receipts tax and machine and tool tax among other changes.”
John Whitbeck, Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, weighed in on our well travelled Governor,
“Governor McAuliffe’s appearance on ‘Meet the Press’ underscored that his entire reason for running for governor was to help get Hillary Clinton elected president. As Chuck Todd correctly pointed out, we don’t know what Hillary Clinton’s message is, and if it’s anything like the governor’s agenda, Virginia voters are sure to say ‘no thanks,’
Since he was elected, the governor’s signature policy initiative, Medicaid expansion, was defeated. Other than that, he has accomplished nothing other than agreeing to Republican legislation and then taking credit for it,”
“Maybe he should spend less time being the self-proclaimed most traveled governor and more time working on behalf of Virginians.” (emphasis mine)
Indeed.
The Governor on Meet the Press talking about Hillary.
