Virginia@: Your November 22nd Sunday Summary

Dear Friend of TJI,

From student loan debt to environmental regulations to higher taxes, the Biden Administration-elect is unleashing four years of pent-up proposals and appointments aimed at making America seem like a bubble.

Meanwhile …

1.) For some, Donald Trump’s continuing legal battle over the election is foolish and a lost cause. Others view it simply as positioning for the 2024 race and to do to Joe Biden what the Left did for four years. Marc Thiessen, the only Trump defender among the Washington Post’s columnists, suggests a better strategy (here).

Either way, The Wall Street Journal's Kim Strassel points out that the continued losing litigation is dangerously distracting focus on the Georgia run-offs (here), which will decide whether there is a check on progressive insanity. And here in Virginia, the upcoming General Assembly battles will decide the direction the Commonwealth takes.

2.) Governor Ralph Northam last year signed onto the regional Transportation and Climate Initiative, a carbon tax which, if approved by the General Assembly, would increase gas taxes to 50 cents a gallon. Last Monday, former House of Delegates Speaker William Howell (a Jefferson Institute Board member) struck back in a The Richmond Times-Dispatch commentary, dissecting TCI’s cost (high) and implications (less transportation funding). Read his piece here.

3.) Howell’s commentary came the same day the Thomas Jefferson Institute released a new study by the respected Beacon Hill Institute, demonstrating that TCI would raise household costs by $737, cost 12,000 private sector jobs, and reduce state GDP by $1 billion. Read the details here.

4.) “TCI is just taxing poor people so that we can subsidize rich people’s electric cars.” But don’t take our word for it: They come from Maria Lopez-Nuñez, Deputy Director, Organizing and Advocacy for the Ironbound Community Corporation (see here). Steve Haner, the Jefferson Institute Senior Fellow for Tax Policy, provides a full

picture (including Lopez-Nuñez’s full testimony) in Bacon’s Rebellion here.

5.) Environmental and tax programs aren’t the only liberal policies hurting poor and middle class children. So, too, do lockdowns of schools resulting in students who are poor or have disabilities being hurt the most. Stanford University’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes estimates that students lost on average 57 to 183 days of learning in reading and 136 to 232 days in math during the spring closures alone (here). The impact on future income is devastating: The University of Pennsylvania estimates that lower educational quality from school closures “costs current students between $12,000 and $15,000 in future earnings.” As of October, they project students had lost four to five percent of their lifetime wage earnings (here). If the Left is concerned about income inequality, they might start here.

6.) Virginia’s response to school closures has been to water down accountability, making it next to impossible to measure the effects of shutdowns (here). That which cannot be measured will be ignored. But Virginia Beach School Board member Vicky Manning has another solution to shutdowns here.

7.) Despite the Left’s claimed concern for the poor, those concerns disappear with obsequious bows to the teachers union which demands a shut-down – even for those who need help the most. In Virginia, these demands have taken the form of caravans with child-sized coffins; in collective bargaining states the demands are more vociferous and backed with collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). CBAs will be coming to Virginia in May … and Virginia parents can expect agreements that will prioritize the union over children and good teaching (here).

8.) The poor and working class are starting to see through the claims of the Left, which is why Donald Trump – despite language that often repelled – did a good deal better with minorities in 2020 (here). Virginia conservatives would be wise to take note.

9.) Over in higher education, Senators Charles Schumer and Elizabeth Warren propose to cancel student debt (here)… in other words, saddle the working class with the debts of a “participation trophy generation.” (here).

10.) Tired of the Nanny State? Have a laugh at its expense. The Moving Picture Institute invites you to take a Short Break with a special virtual screening of their short film, A Piece of Cake, starring Mad Men’s Rich Sommers on December 9, from 12:00 noon to 12:30 pm, including Q&A with the filmmakers. Watch the trailer and register for free by clicking here.

Finally … No newsletter next week as we celebrate Thanksgiving with family -- appropriately during National Family Week. We trust yours will go better than the one these two political consultant brothers probably had (here).

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone.

May God Grant You Many Years.