6th

Employers will now be forced to pay $78 dollars more a year per worker under an automatic tax trigger because the unemployment fund has been depleted. This is a direct result of the vote to reject 125 million dollars in federal stimulus money to help extend unemployment benefits to those hardest hit by this tough economic climate. Delegate Crockett-Stark voted to refuse this money, and her justification for this vote, now proved to be in error, was that it would raise taxes on employers.

“It has become increasingly clear that voting to reject 125 million of our tax dollars was nothing more than an act of political gamesmanship by party bosses in Richmond,” said Carole Pratt, candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates. “With nearly one out of every ten people in our district unemployed, the time for scoring political points should be long past.”

“This kind of fiscal mismanagement in Richmond has hurt our workers and our business owners,” added Carole. “I believe our out-of-work friends and neighbors, our business owners, and every taxpayer of this district deserve an explanation for the decision to turn away 125 million dollars in stimulus funds. This is precisely why I have invited Delegate Crockett-Stark to participate in a debate on the economy in every county in our district.”

“Carole always says that it’s amazing what we can accomplish if we don’t care who gets the credit,” added campaign manager Eric Hyers. “This was a clear example of party bosses playing political games during an election year and our delegate voted in lock step. Now taxes on our businesses are increasing and our workforce has been given little help during these tough economic times. This isn’t the kind of leadership we need when our communities are facing double digit unemployment.”