Virginia@: Your July 12th Sunday Summary ...

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Dear Friend of TJI,

Governor Ralph Northam has set 2045 as the date for achieving a carbon-free energy grid. Jim Bacon, of Bacon's Rebellion, asks an inconvenient question Northam never gets around to asking: How much will it cost? (Click here).

Meanwhile ...

1.) Meanwhile, Northam did issue a news release grandly announcing that Virginia was now the southernmost state in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The Jefferson Institute's Senior Fellow for Tax Policy, Steve Haner, points out what that means: "IT'S A TAX! You won't see any mention in the Governor's release about the carbon tax, $100-160 million per year, Virginians will now have to pay on their electric bills. That's all the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is really - a carbon tax." Click here.

2.) But there can't be enough taxes to work America out of the coming debt crisis. Over at Reason Magazine, Nick Gillespie notes "The amount of money the government owed to the public was 79 percent of gross domestic product at the end of 2019, up from 31 percent in 2001. The COVID-19 lockdowns and subsequent emergency spending will push the curve above 100 percent of GDP by the end of 2020, and it's expected to keep rising." Read it here.

3.) Digging out will be even harder under a "Universal Basic Income" program, argues the Pacific Research Institute's Damon Dunn in RealClear Markets, who argues against it: "If you had given my family an extra $1,000 a month, this would not have done anything to lift us out of poverty. This extra cash would not have moved us up the economic ladder or closed the income gap. It wouldn't have empowered us to buy a home, move into a neighborhood with better schools, or pay for college." (Click here).

4.) Such measures are what one would expect in a socialist state ... which is why you should not miss the Thomas Jefferson Institute's luncheon webinar presentation this Wednesday with Johan Norberg. Topic: Sweden's Lessons for America. To register, click here.

5.) At Harper's Magazine, more than 100 mostly very liberal writers signed a letter defending freedom of expression and calling for an end to the "Cancel Culture," declaring "Editors are fired for running controversial pieces; books are withdrawn for alleged inauthenticity; journalists are barred from writing on certain topics; professors are investigated for quoting works of literature in class; a researcher is fired for circulating a peer-reviewed academic study ... the result has been to steadily narrow the boundaries of what can be said without the threat of reprisal. We are already paying the price..."

They were immediately attacked by the Left for making some feel "less safe." The letter itself is important to read (as is the list of signers) here. National Review's Jim Geraghty has a great column (click here). The Daily Signal's Mary Margaret Olohan has a splendid report (click here). But the Cancel Culture will not be satisfied and disagreeable literature making you think must be stopped (click here).

6.) Actor Terry Crews rejects that notion, coming under attack for what National Review editor Rich Lowry notes is "expressing a view of humanity consistent with Christian teachings (Crews is a strong believer) and with the Declaration of Independence ..." For breaking "group think", we probably should anticipate Time Magazine will soon take away Crews' 2017 Person of the Year Award (click here).

7.) After a New York Post commentary linked rioting to The New York Times' controversial "1619 Project," calling them "the 1619 riots," the journalist behind the project responded, "It would be an honor. Thank you." The tweet was subsequently deleted, without explanation. But it is true that the "1619 Project" has provided claimed "intellectual cover" for the protests. TV Host Armstrong Williams, part of the "1776 Project," deconstructs the "slavery as origin" argument here. And at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, president Mike Petrilli says "Pity the History Teachers" (click here).

8.) But will teachers even be able to teach? Virginia State Senate and House Republicans say it should be a priority, and more importantly propose providing resources to help local school divisions make it work. Among the policy ideas: Additional paid leave for teachers and staff for COVID-19 related issues, immunity for school districts from lawsuits related to COVID-19, funding for teacher pay raises, Additional funding for at-risk schools, Increased funding for Virtual Virginia, expanded health/nursing services, and increased funding to help schools reopen. Click here.

9.) In the days leading up to Independence Day, the Northam Administration forced the contractor building the new General Assembly building to take down the American Flag for fear it would attract protestors. The Hill has the story here. To paraphrase Pastor Niemoller, "First they came for Lee, and I did not speak out. Then they came for Grant and Lincoln, and I did not speak out. Then they came for Washington and Jefferson and I did not speak out. Then they came for the American Flag, and there was no one left to speak out." Over at Bacon's Rebellion, Kerry Dougherty reminds us that flying the flag can have extraordinary personal meaning (click here).

Finally ... Some songs, even after only 36 years are iconic. And just when you think they can't get any better ... they do (click here).

Happy Sunday, Everyone.

Crank up the sound.

Cordially,