"What's the deal with Richmond??"

Marc Fisher of washingtonpost.com wrote a great, mocking article about the Virginia state legislature's inability and unwillingness to pass any bill to help solve the painfully horrible Northern Virginia traffic problems (the DCist commented on this epic fail here). Fisher referenced Virginia Governor, Tim Kaine's, soundbite equating the ineptitude of the Good Ole Boys in Richmond to an episode of Seinfeld, saying "it was doing nothing taken to an art." But then Fisher goes on to spell out the incredibly important things that the General Assembly did get done during these sessions. Much much more important than investing in the reform of roads and transit in the most densely populated portion of the state. Things like tributes to high school golf teams and dedicating overpasses are the kinds of bureaucratic BS that mean nothing ever gets done.

The traffic situation in Northern VA and the DC Metro area as a whole is atrocious. The fat cats down in Richmond can be shielded from our saturated and antiquated roads, from the excessive and ever-increasing volume our bridges and overpasses have to bear. They can take the taxpaying dollars from all across the state and pad their pockets while wasting time patting their buddies on the back and handing out medals. Is that what these people are elected for?

But sadly, as Governor Kaine knows, this was expected. The General Assembly has vigorously and continuously opposed funding any sort of change or help for the transportation in NoVa (or Hampton Roads for that matter). As my continuously-brilliant father says over and over again, it comes down to the fact that all the legislators from all the small, rural jurisdictions in Virginia don't want to pay to fix the roads up in Northern VA because it doesn't impact their constituents at all. In their eyes, those fast-talking, crazy-driving, sonsa-bitches up thar in The North have grown up and grown up and it's their own damn fault that they don't have enough roads built fast enough. Me and the residents of Dickenson County aint gonna pay for no high-falutin' Lexus drivers to have better roads.

And while that is a valid point, the rural folks and the General Assembly continue to advantageously ignore the fact that the majority of Virginia state taxpayer dollars come from Northern VA. So they just want to sit back and rake in all the money from the successful business people and government workers up in the DC area (who are paying a butt-load more in cost of living and Dickenson County, thank you very much) and then distribute it throughout the state as they see fit. Not allocating an equal percentage of funding and legislation to support their sugar-daddies in Fairfax and Arlington. No, essentially the General Assembly and all the other counties in the Commonwealth stick their hand out for cash like an ungrateful teenager (sorry dad) and then take the keys, flick off the parents, and go out on the town with their friends, spending the money on whatever the heck they want. Anything and everything but that which is most important to the people who pay them the most.


All this talking about the General Assembly makes me wonder about a couple things. Firstly, I am reminded of a news piece about the Texas state legislation's voting practices and whether taxpayers can really trust that their legislators are really voting for the bills that are getting passed. At the time a local news station featured the video below and followed up the piece by saying Virginia and Maryland legislators anonymously admit the same practice often happens in their sessions. See the video below:


Secondly, it makes me quietly wonder if the General Assembly, or the state capital for that matter, should still be located in Richmond. I mean, is it still there because of secessionist nostalgia when Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy? I mean we have to pay homage to Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, right? Is it because of geographic location? Somewhat central in the state, on the James River (which ceased being important with the invention of the railroad), and yet far enough away from Washington, DC so them Yanks can't tell us what to do.

I propose we re-evaluate the location (and therefore local influence and experience) of the capital and General Assembly, picking the most advantageous and politically relevant location. Yes. I am proposing Fairfax become the new capital of the Virginia. 

Now... is that a joke? Somewhat. Would it be a nightmare? Probably. But, I am trying to make a point, so hear me out. Fairfax, Loudon, Arlington, Prince William, and Stafford counties (as well as Fairfax and Falls Church cities) ranked at the top of median household income in 2003. Therefore residents of Northern Virginia continue to pay more taxes and have a higher cost of living than the rest of the state, so the Assembly's funds are coming from Northern VA families. But how do legislators from Richmond, let alone rural Virginia, understand the issues and pressures felt by their most wealthy and financially-supportive constituents from so far away? Don't you think that if the General Assembly met in Fairfax County and had to drive on these roads and in this traffic every day, they would be more willing to invest in reform?

It is questions like these that have led many Virginians to question the fairness of the Assembly's representation and lawmaking. There is even a group called the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance, which strives to fight for fair taxing in Virginia and keeping the legislators accountable. Talk of this kind always rekindles the flames of Northern Virginia seceding from the Commonwealth due to tax and revenue disputes with the legislature (also see this blog post devoted to the concept. The logic isn't flawless, but it is interesting). Wikipedia has a concise description of these dissenting remarks, even if they usually only go so far as tirades and grumbling over a beer:

In nearly all recent cases of efforts at state secession, the impetus for the proposal comes partially from strong regional identities within the state, coupled with a frustration from one region that the state government, in the other region, is out of touch with and underserving the disgruntled area. Conversely, more urban regions may mull secession ideas over tax flow issues, where the urban side disproportionately subsidizes government spending on the rural side. Often these regions also hold distinct political values from each other, usually with rural/conservative areas seeking to split from urban/liberal areas or vice versa.

That seems to sum it up pretty well. The political, economic, and social climate in Northern Virginia is significantly different from the rest of the state, specifically Richmond, the seat of the Legislature. Is that cause for secession? Probably not, but the fact that there is such discussion and dissention among the residents of this Commonwealth should be noted and taken into consideration by the General Assembly. You can't turn a deaf ear and a cold shoulder to the seat of your wealth and population. You can't pull a Seinfeld and just do nothing. It is almost comical (if it weren't so infuriating) that they spent weeks and months agreeing on recognitions and awards instead of working together to affect change where it is needed most. Isn't it time for the people of Northern VA, repeatedly scorned by the lawmakers, to demand fair representation? What would the rest of the state do without our tax dollars? No, seriously. Think about it.