Several times in the past couple of weeks, sirens and horns could be heard blaring in Buena Vista for an extended period. The barrage of noise on multiple occasions wasn’t an indication of anything dire transpiring in the city; rather it was the sound of celebration – firetrucks escorting the victorious Parry McCluer High School girls basketball team through the city following yet another triumph on the hardwood.
I’ve always regarded the Democratic opposition to broad-based tax relief as one of the e n d u r i n g mysteries of American politics. Reducing taxes is not only one of the most popular things lawmakers can do, but also one of the most economically beneficial. Yet for nearly as long as I can remember, Democrats have instinctively opposed sweeping tax cuts, insisting that they are bad for the country and good only for the super-rich.
With Virginia sitting on billions of dollars in surplus funds, thanks largely to federal largesse that has filled state coffers during the pandemic, and a state bipartisan commission having identified billions of dollars’ worth of school construction projects that are long overdue, now would seem like a good time for the state to invest in school construction.
