Providing for resilient communities and a stable economy can take many forms. Which is completely fair and understandable- and means that it’s our job to make sure every community is empowered to make that a reality. They want to be able to go about their business, live their lives, with as little interruption as possible. I believe firmly one of the most important jobs any government has is providing stability for its citizens. Resilient Communities and a Stable Economy It means sustainable, long-lasting, well-paying jobs that will proactively build and protect these vulnerable communities, and increase the freedom and resiliency of Virginia families from the mountains to the sea. It means pursuing the best healthcare system we can provide. This means pursuing a higher minimum wage. We need to be proactive and ensure every Virginian, regardless of their zip code, has access to the 21st Century economy. We can't afford to "punt this football" any longer. Small and underserved communities will be hit first, as they lose vital revenue streams, which will exacerbate a "brain drain" that's already devastated once robust parts of the Commonwealth, and will trigger a migration of people into cities with already strained job and housing markets. Over ten percent of the entire job market in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 250,000 cashiers, clerks, and retail workers. What happens when these jobs disappear in the next ten years? And, behind them, the twenty thousand call center jobs in Virginia. There are about 50,000 truck and bus drivers in Virginia, making a mean hourly wage of $20/hour, disproportionately employed in the most economically disadvantaged parts of Virginia- and that number doesn't even include everything from delivery drivers to taxi/Uber/Lyft operators. Automation is coming, and nothing will stop it… but we can be ready for it. The next employment crisis isn't on the horizon- it's here already. The people of the Commonwealth deserve nothing less. Given the opportunity to lead, follow, or get out of the way, Virginia should always- always- be ready to lead. We can’t kick it any farther without jeopardizing the future our children and grandchildren will inherit. The can got kicked down the road- and landed right here. And the generations of politicians that came before us used up the time we had to dither about. The challenges we’re facing today- the decisions that will be made in the next few years- will chart the course the Commonwealth will take forward for the next fifty to a hundred years. ![]() ![]() Thinking beyond winning the next election is inconceivable, never mind planning for the next five, ten, or fifty years.īut that’s exactly what we need right now. Look, I get it- taking the kind of bold action that provides for the future of the Commonwealth doesn’t always make for great press releases, clever soundbytes, or engaging political mailers. It seems to have no end.I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of politicians who talk an awful big game about tackling the biggest issues of the day… and then immediately punt responsibility of solving those problems as far down the road as they can. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has not stopped. But during the last 13 years, over and over again reports of bizarre, grisly chainsaw mass-murders have persisted all across the state of Texas. Officially, on the records, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre never happened. They could find no killers and no victims. ![]() Texas lawmen mounted a month-long manhunt, but could not locate the macabre farmhouse. The girl babbled a mad tale: a cannibal family in an isolated farmhouse? chain-sawed fingers and bones? her brother, her friends hacked up for barbecue? chairs made out of human skeletons? Then she sank into catatonia. Sally said she had broken out of a window in Hell. The next morning the one survivor, Sally Hardesty-Enright, was picked up on a roadside Blood cloaked and screaming murder. On the afternoon of August 18th, 1973, five young people in a Volkswagen van ran out of gas on a farm road in South Texas.
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