Gov. Bob McDonnell announced Wednesday a budget surplus of $220 million. Part of that surplus comes from the accelerated collection of sales tax, a shell game of sorts that shifts funds normally collected in July to June. This isn’t a new trick – we’ve seen it before – but it does cloud a bit the true picture of where we are. Norm has other thoughts on the surplus as does Paige.
Political considerations aside, I can’t get too excited about the budget surplus. Virginia still has a tough road ahead and until the legislature is willing to make some hard choices, we still will have clogged roads, unemployment, and a Medicaid reimbursement among the lowest in the country.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 