I am not terribly upset over of this. One can argue that Tidewater should have had its sales tax raised to 6% for its transportation needs as well, simply under the same philosophy that NoVa got its raised.
Tidewater does contribute to overall economy of the Commonwealth, but this is also because of federal spending; spending that would not have been possible if it were not for tax collected from the rest of the Commonwealth. Friedman’s MV = PQ is being put to good use.
The question is how much more NoVa can grow and when it is expected to require more money for Transportation?
Btw, I am not a RINO or a GOPe-er, I think that this disarms the Dems in VA for the next couple of election cycles and may get McDonnell in the US Senate in 2014.
As someone who lives in NoVA, I don't want to pay higher taxes than many in the rest of the state. And you can bet that after a few years, the gas tax will be reinstituted.
And the price for passing the bill is the the expansion of Medicaid in VA. The Feds pick up the full cost for the first three years and that decreases to 90%. We will need more taxes to make up the 10%. McDonnell screwed us. He is a RINO.