September 25, 2009
This past week, Virginia candidate for Governor, Creigh Deeds (D), outlined his transportation plan in a Washington Post op-ed. Like all op-eds written by politicians, it contained a list of all the wonderful things he would do if elected. Here's what he said:
In the plan laid out on my Web site, I share my views that we need to:
-- Bring high-speed rail to Virginia.
-- Reduce congestion (and commute times) in Northern Virginia.
-- Expand freight and passenger rail.
-- Maximize economic opportunities linked to the Port of Virginia.
-- Utilize bus rapid transit.
-- Expand the capacity of critical Hampton Roads water crossings and emergency evacuation routes.
-- Reduce rush-hour traffic through telecommuting and flex-time tax credits.
-- Promote smarter land-use planning.
-- And expand road and rail projects in Southwest and Southside Virginia.
Note his proposal to "reduce rush-hour traffic through telecommuting and flex-time tax credits."
Who is the biggest employer in Northern Virginia (where traffic is worst in the state)? The federal government. How can you give a tax credit to the federal government, which, by law, pays no taxes? Furthermore, a large fraction of Northern Virginia residents also work for non-profits (like me) who once again pay no tax.
This is typical of politicians (both left and right): use tax policy to try to achieve some supposed goal because it sounds good, even though tax policy is a terrible and inefficient way to try to achieve the end.