Crooked what?

Before the claws come out, I’m a supporter of bluegrass and mountain music in every way possible. However, I have a few questions about this “music trail.”

 

1. Has this designation created one new manufacturing or farming job in each of the counties the road winds through?

2. Does this designation entitle Virginia’s Ninth District to a special place at the appropriations table in Congress? Do we benefit in some unseen way?

3. What happens if the Crooked Road becomes straight?

 

I challenge anyone to name one job that’s been created or attracted here because of the “Crooked Road.”  There is however, a place in the upper end of Washington County that could attract a medium or large capital company to create jobs. It is called “The Glade Highlands Industrial Park.” Where are the jobs that were promised? The almost $1 million dollars in low or no interest loans have done little to nothing to draw companies willing to invest in the community or the county instead we keep drawing in transitory cash from the truck stop. Our capital is being send north with the truckers.

Never mind the almost 1,200 jobs a year that Virginia stands to lose if Cap and Tax is enacted.Instead, Washington County is becoming the Meth capital of Southwest Virginia and Rick Boucher and his union cronies are smiling all the way to re-election each term. Kilo sparks things up with his observation about the Feckless One’s inability to deliver on good paying, permanent jobs.

It’s not about trying to chase a pot of gold, it’s not even about trying to get the finer things in life, in some instances, one of these jobs could be the difference between standing in line at the free clinic in Meadowview or being seen by a specialist at The Campus for the kids. A job that a man can hang his hat on and feel secure at. Come on Rick, give us something better than the Crooked Road.

Why tour when your boss won’t listen

According to a press release issued by the Rural America Solutions Group, a subset of the House GOP, Barry’s Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Danville,VA as part of a so-called listening tour through rural America. I repeat the question above. Why bother touring when your boss won’t listen to the voices in rural America.

With the passage of Waxman-Markey National Energy Tax in the House, Barack Obama is hell-bent on draining American’s wallets to promote George Soros’ agenda. Any fool can see that jobs will be lost if the Senate passes the bill in the same form as the House.

Delusional?

Does Barack Obama really think that throwing away billions of American taxpayers’ hard earned dollars has done anything constructive? I suppose so according to this snippet. Coupled with the fact that the Waxman-Markey cap and tax regime that just passed the House, the question now becomes, does Barack Obama really know what he’s doing or is he just following George Soros’ instructions? (By the way, Move On believes the Waxman Markey bill does not go far enough.)

SWVA Delegation to Richmond, not optimistic

Senators Bill Wampler, Jr. and Phillip Puckett are taking a wait and see attitude as to whether further budget cuts will be needed.

 

State Sen. William Wampler Jr., R-Bristol, was in Richmond Thursday with the Senate Finance Committee dealing with the latest notch to get bored into the state’s tightening belt.

“I think the most disturbing point is, all revenue trends are worse than what the governor briefed us on during (this year’s session of the Virginia General Assembly),” Wampler said.

“We continue to see a slide in sales tax collections and quarterly income tax estimates.

Well, I think Senator Wampler has understated the situation. He’s in a panic mode without trying to appear in a panic mode. The fact of the matter remains that this “porkulus” package has done little or nothing to ease the fiscal crunch that many are feeling right now. What it has done is expand the scope of federal government intrusion and oversight into matters that are properly left to the state governments. Common sense will tell you if people aren’t spending, sales tax revenues will be below estimates.

Senator Phillip Puckett is taking much the same approach as Senator Wampler:

State Sen. Phillip Puckett, D-Lebanon, said May and June revenue numbers will be crucial to knowing where to go into the new fiscal year that starts July 1.

“These last two months will probably determine if we have to make any serious cuts, and we will probably have to do that before June 30,” Puckett said, in order to balance the budget by the end of the current fiscal year.

We’ll see.