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Gov. McAuliffe Another Porkbarrel King

by Lewis Loflin

  
  

With one former Virginia Gov. going to prison over back room deals and corporate welfare Democrat Terry McAuliffe is back doing the same old dirty deals. Bart Hinkle of the Richmond Times Dispatch is blasting the latest dirty deal involving something called Hardywood Park Craft Brewery.

In recent years a number of legitimate private sector microbreweries have opened across the state without government handouts. Now the state will be funding with millions of our tax dollars a politically connected brewery to unfairly compete against them.

The amount handed out is startling; a $1.5 million package that includes a $500,000 grant from the Gov.'s opportunity slush fund; $250,000 from another state fund; $56,000 for job training; and lots more.

In addition Goochland County is throwing in another $1 million in tax incentives. Mr. Hinkle is correct but this is patently unfair and as state lawmakers have dumped millions more into these corporate welfare slush funds.

But that was only the beginning. Virginia Leeward Stone brewing to Richmond with a $5 million corporate welfare package. They also arranged an $11 million corporate welfare package for the Washington Redskins training camp in Richmond Virginia. In addition Richmond with its large low income black population and high crime rates is paying the fabulously wealthy Washington Redskins $500,000 a year.

Gov. McAuliffe was instrumental in the theft of almost $100 million from state tax payers to underwrite shopping mall development in Bristol Virginia. He joined the local Republicans in promoting more costly crony capitalism.

As Mr. Hinkle notes the state is taking money from the pockets of working people and filling the bank accounts of the wealthy and connected. This goes on all the time in Virginia and other corrupt low-wage southern states. It doesn't matter which political party when it comes to business and corporate welfare they are identical.

Virginia is working hard competing against other states to be the crony capitalism kings. Thank you Gov. McAuliffe for stealing our tax dollars. July 28, 1015.




 


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