Taxes & Spending
Jeff believes that small government and low taxes leave room for a robust private sector. He trusts the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans and private enterprise solutions over government bureaucracies. If you send Jeff to Richmond, he will work to shrink government and grow the economy. Attracting more jobs will create additional revenue. We cannot borrow and spend our way out of a recession. Future generations will pay dearly for the spending mistakes of this generation. Long-term economic growth will be choked off by a debt load and tax burden that is out of control.
In the past 10 years, the Commonwealth’s budget has increased 100%, which is 30% faster than the rate of inflation. We have been acting like a family that spends every penny of income available and 30% more by maximizing credit-card debt. When tough economic times hit, we were unprepared, causing the governor to mandate arbitrary cuts to the state budget in crisis mode. Our Commonwealth needs a more balanced and realistic budgeting process. We need to cut government waste. And we need to hold fast to the principle that we cannot tax our way out of a recession.
Jeff McWaters will fight for low taxes.
In the private sector, companies either live within their budget or they go bankrupt. Revenues must be earned, not simply “raised” by imposing new taxes and fees. Fiscal discipline is a necessity, not just a campaign promise. Jeff will bring a private-sector mindset to Richmond. As a businessman, he understands that the greatest engine for economic growth is a low tax burden. He also understands that crisis-based budgeting leads to inefficiencies and, in the long-run, runaway tax burdens.
Jeff will not look at the issue of taxes in isolation. Lower taxes can only be achieved if we eliminate government waste and inefficiency, if we get health care spending under control, if we fight against unfunded mandates, and if we become more realistic and strategic in our budgeting.
Jeff McWaters will uncover and eliminate government waste and inefficiency.
Have you ever noticed that when politicians don’t know how to pay for something, they always promise they will just “eliminate government waste and inefficiency”? Next time you hear that promise, ask yourself this: How many of them have actually done it?
Jeff McWaters built AMERIGROUP from a business plan on his kitchen table to a Fortune 600 company based on two value propositions:
- Improving access to health care for lower-income families and the disabled;
- Saving states' tax dollars in the process.
If we are serious about eliminating government waste and inefficiency, we will send business leaders to Richmond who have made a career out of doing just that.
Jeff McWaters has a plan for healthcare reform that does not break the bank.
Healthcare reform is an important issue to Jeff McWaters. His plan will create predictability for Medicaid costs and ensure that those with the greatest needs obtain benefits through an organized system of care. Through competitive bidding and the same type of systemic reform he has helped implement in 14 other states, Jeff’s plan would finally contain the skyrocketing costs of Virginia’s Medicaid program. Unless these costs are contained, Virginia’s Medicaid cost will continue to expand while its spending on all other programs like transportation and education decreases.
Jeff McWaters will fight against unfunded mandates.
In the last few years, all levels of government have been involved in a gigantic game of pass the buck. The federal government mandates expensive new programs without fully funding them, passing the buck to the states. The states mandating new programs without fully funding them, passing the buck to the localities. Then the federal government, states, and localities all pass the buck to taxpayers in the form of higher taxes and fees.
And the taxpayers have nowhere to pass the buck.
When Harry Truman was president, he had a sign on his desk that read: “The buck stops here.” This should be the mindset of every political leader. Jeff will fight against unfunded federal mandates and unfunded state mandates. It is easy to sit in Richmond and pass legislation that mandates certain outcomes as long as you don’t have to pay for that legislation.
As your Senator, Jeff will never forget who ultimately gets stuck with that bill.
Jeff McWaters will help Bob McDonnell and other Republican leaders reform the state budgeting process.
Bob McDonnell has compared Virginia’s budgeting process to a roller-coaster ride. When times are good, the state spends every penny and a little more, then issues rosy projections to justify large budget increases. When the recession hits and exposes seriously flawed projections, the Governor’s Office is forced to issue arbitrary across-the-board cuts instead of prioritizing programs and implementing system-wide reform. Of the 50 states, Virginia has the second largest forecasting errors in state budgets. In the private sector, a company or a management team with that kind of track record wouldn’t last long.
The McDonnell-Bolling Fiscal Responsibility Plan would fix that. By implementing evidenced-based budgeting, Richmond would be held accountable for realistic, accurate, and conservative forecasting. The Rainy Day Fund would be increased from 10% to 15% of the budget. Performance audits of major agencies would be implemented and followed by performance-based spending. Government transparency and accountability would be increased.
Lower taxes are not the result of wishful thinking or even well-intentioned campaign promises. Decreasing our tax burden will require hard work, tough decisions, and fiscal discipline. These are the qualities that Jeff will bring to Richmond, the same qualities that allowed him to build a successful company premised on helping states save money in the toughest part of their state budgets.