Kaine's not the good guy regarding onerous bad-driver fees

January 23, 2008 12:15 am

So Gov. Kaine wants to repeal the "abusive driver fees" law? How convenient! ["Senate advances repeal of fees," Jan. 17].

He forgets that this law is what it is because of him, and he smiles for the papers like he's doing us a huge favor.

The attentive reader will recall that it was Gov. Kaine who proposed making the fees applicable only to in-state drivers (arguing, incorrectly, that it would be unenforceable for out-of-state drivers--how then do they enforce speeding tickets for out-of-state drivers?).

And to make matters worse, he wants not only to do us the huge favor of repealing the law that he essentially created, but he also wants to do us the favor of "recouping lost revenue" by raising sales taxes on automobiles.

Boy, the automakers are just going to love Virginia--as if it isn't hard enough to sell a car in this economy.

I have a better idea. Our state government should repeal this law (and many others, while they're at it), do not raise any taxes (lower, or eliminate, most of them, in fact), and simply work to manage our money better than they currently do.

As a very good friend of mine says, "If you aren't outraged, you clearly aren't paying taxes!"

The best that can be said right now about our two-faced governor is that he can't succeed himself--though he's working to change that, too.

George Parker

Caroline