McDonnell urges VRS change
On CNBC Wednesday, Gov. Bob McDonnell made his pitch for taking another crack at changes to the Virginia Retirement System.
"We have a very rich and generous defined benefit program, and that's almost a dinosaur now in the public and private sector," he said when asked about the health of the state workers pension program.
The state doesn't "have enough people paying in at reasonable rates to fund the outflows from the people who are retiring now."
Changes, he said, are "a top priority for the next session," he said. "And I've already told the General Assembly it's coming."
The General Assembly this year required state employees to pay 5 percent into the Virginia Retirement System, and reimbursed them for the entire amount with 5 percent pay raises.
Olympia Meola
Higher taxes concern Webb
As the debt-ceiling debate roiled on in Washington, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., weighed in for the first time, saying he has "serious concerns" with any attempt to raise income taxes.
But Webb said he is in full support of increasing revenues through other means, including ending subsidies and tax loopholes and adjusting measures like capital gains.
Republicans in the House, led by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-7th, have taken a hard stand on taxes, opposing any measure — including closing loopholes — that would lead to higher rates for some Americans.
Webb has introduced legislation over the years to close the "carried interest" tax loophole that allows hedge fund managers' income to be taxed at low capital gains rates and eliminate ethanol subsidies.
In 2009, Webb introduced legislation to provide for a profits tax on large bonuses paid to executives from companies who received more than $5 billion from the TARP bailout. The measure never received a vote on the Senate floor.
"Taken together, such provisions could reduce the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars and restore a measure of fairness to the tax code," Webb said. "I believe these and other similar approaches should be taken by congressional and administration leaders, rather than increasing the tax burden on Americans whose paychecks are coming from earned income as the result of their direct services."
Wesley P. Hester
Radtke wants debate
Tea party Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Radtke is ready to debate political heavyweight George Allen. And she's ready now.
"There's a reason he pretends like there's no one else in the race. It's because people are looking for an alternative," she said in a phone interview Tuesday.
"He's not the nominee," she added. "On a race that's going to have a profound impact not only on Virginia, but on the whole entire country, it's important to start having debates and informing people as soon as possible."
Radtke, former chairwoman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Federation, and other Republican candidates face an uphill battle against Allen leading up to next year's Republican primary given the former governor's name recognition and fundraising prowess.
But Radtke said debate would be the great equalizer.
"When he has to be held accountable for his record in the Senate, it will have a profound impact on the campaign," Radtke said. "And I think that people will hear that there are new ideas out there, and new solutions. That will be the game changer."
Wesley P. Hester
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