Budget cuts will burn down the house.
On Friday March 12, the Virginia Organizing Project presented the Governor’s office with a giant check in the amount of $921.01 towards the state budget. The check represents proceeds from “bake sales for the budget” held statewide last Thursday.
The check was delivered along with a message that a cuts-only approach to the budget shortfall is irresponsible and will hurt public systems and structures at a time when Virginians need them most. The group calls for a balanced approach to the budget that includes revenue.
Janice “Jay” Johnson, Chairperson of the Virginia Organizing Project made the following remarks:
“We are presenting this check today to show that our legislators and our Governor have choices with the state budget. We went out and raised $921.01 in revenue. We wish there could be more zeros behind that number but any small amount of revenue helps.
“We have got to really begin to look at other options for the state of Virginia. We have got to take some serious looks, as citizens and as organizations, at the correct approach to this budget crisis. We cannot rely on a cuts-only approach. These cuts touch everybody. This is not about the haves and have-nots. This is about people whose children are disabled who are not going to get the help that they need and about children who will not get a decent education. The cuts are across the board and cutting very deeply.
“When this General Assembly finishes, we will be ‘fee’d’ to death. What is the difference between charging a million little fees and raising taxes? If it comes out of your pocket, it doesn’t matter if it comes out of the left or the right. It’s still coming out. My grandfather had a saying: If you keep cutting off your porch to feed your fire, eventually you are going to burn your house down. That is where we are in the state of Virginia. We are burning our house down.”
See images of check presentation at Flickr.
