Let’s take the Northern Virginia Sun wayback machine to this week in 1967 for coverage of some state news.
The paper reported that a state study group, the kind legislatures empanel to do their dirty work, wants Virginia leaders to eliminate the cigarette tax. As the panel noted, the tax had been introduced on a “temporary” basis in 1960, but had yet to rescinded.
The group wanted it a goner by 1970s.
A “temporary” tax? Ah, hahahahahahahaha! You and I are “temporary,” dear readers; taxes are forever. (Shoot, the federal income tax was supposedly temporary. How’d that work out?)
Not a smoker … or a joker … or a midnight toker myself, so the tax doesn’t impact me, but I looked it up and indeed, it is still around: 60 cents per pack at the state level, plus whatever the feds add on.
TOO EARLY TO START LOOKING TO 2023? My spies in the Arlington Democratic infrastructure say odds favor neither County Board member up for election in 2023 actually running for a third term.
And if Katie Cristol and Christian Dorsey do skedaddle (and just as they’d start earning some bigger bucks …), the field would seem to be wide open.
Too soon? Yes, decidedly too soon.
‘SLICK TONY’ INDEED: As I try to avoid the national news as much as possible, but in order to keep up, every week or so I type in “Anthony Fauci” to Google to see what the impish sprite is saying and doing.
News coverage from the start of the week: The good doctor says he won’t stick around if Donald Trump assumes the presidency a second time.
Oh Tony, Tony, Tony.
First of all, the Don-Don is not going to be president again. It’s possible he could be the Republican nominee — more possible than Joe Biden being the same for the Democrats — but a general-election victory? No.
Second, the nation’s highest paid bureaucrat almost assuredly will be not just gone from his job but perhaps touring the world, out of reach of congressional process-servers, should Republicans take over one or both houses of the legislature in the mid-terms.
Wait and see … live and learn ……..
-Scott McCaffrey