Democrats’ empty ‘affordability’ rhetoric

OPINION:

In case Northern Virginians missed it, Monday was the deadline for motorists in Fairfax, Arlington, Prince William and Loudoun counties and the city of Alexandria to pay the much-hated annual “personal property” car tax.

There may be no better proof than the car tax that Democratic talking points about fighting for “affordability” for the middle class are demonstrably false and farcically so.

If county and municipal governments wanted to, they could reduce the car tax rate, which in Fairfax County stands at $4.57 per $100 of a car’s assessed market value, with vehicle values determined using J.D. Power automotive analytics.

I drive a 2025 Ford Escape gas-and-electric hybrid that I bought new in July 2025, and my car tax bill was $783.62. That is more than my $759.40 monthly car loan payment, but whether I can “afford” the car tax is of no concern to the Democrats who run Fairfax County.

As such, Democrats’ campaigning in Virginia — and elsewhere across the country — on “affordability” calls to mind a line variously attributed to French playwright Jean Giraudoux, George Burns and Groucho Marx: “The key to success is sincerity. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

That is what Democrats pretending to be fighting for “affordability” are counting on in the November midterms in four weeks.

Apart from the car tax, if Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a liberal Democrat, were genuinely concerned about affordability — specifically about high gas prices — she could call the Democratic-controlled General Assembly into special session to enact a temporary suspension of state motor fuels taxes. These are 32.6 cents per gallon on gasoline and 33.6 cents per gallon on diesel.

According to the automotive-related site Edmunds.com, the fuel tanks of most passenger cars hold 12 to 16 gallons, while larger SUVs typically carry 16 to 21 gallons. A suspension of the state gas tax would thus save Virginians $3.91 to $6.85 every time they filled up.

Compounding the problem, Ms. Spanberger on Oct. 1 unveiled her “clean energy” plan, which Virginia state Sen. Mark Obenshain, a Republican from Harrisonburg, says “concedes that the expensive energy mandates — [the Virginia Clean Economy Act and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative] — that Democrats have saddled Virginia with have caused skyrocketing electric bills. This plan doubles down, even as its own model shows that by keeping those mandates, it will cost Virginians $127 billion more through 2050.”

Does that sound affordable?

Let us not forget the 4% surtax that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors slapped on restaurant and bar tabs, takeout food sales and Uber Eats and DoorDash deliveries on Jan. 1, on top of the existing 6% state sales tax, for a combined 10%.

When they did so, the 9-1 Democratic supermajority on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors thumbed its collective nose at Fairfax voters, who had twice rejected the county meals tax surcharge in a pair of referendums.

As a result of the surcharge, a hypothetical dinner out for a family of four at a restaurant in Fairfax County with a top line of $75 on New Year’s Eve 2025 cost $79.50 after taxes. Twenty-four hours later, on New Year’s Day 2026, it was $82.50, a full $3 more.

In neighboring Arlington and Alexandria, both deep-blue Democratic strongholds, that surcharge is even higher at 5%, for a total of 11%. Yet there is no discussion among any of those counties’ officials about rolling back the surcharges to make eating more affordable.

Instead, more typical of Democrats, Rep. James Walkinshaw, who represents Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, expressed limited concerns about “affordability” in an Oct. 1 email newsletter, confining his criticism to castigating President Trump for tapping “$20 million in taxpayer money” for what he calls “political ads and propaganda.”

“Here in Fairfax and all across Virginia, families are paying more for gas, groceries and healthcare,” he complained. “Whether you’re filling up before your commute or stretching the grocery budget for your kids, every dollar counts.

“Your money should be working for you, not boosting [the president’s] ratings,” wrote Mr. Walkinshaw, whose dark-blue district is just outside Washington. “That’s what I’m fighting for: cheaper groceries, gas and housing, affordable healthcare, and a government that works for Fairfax families.”

However, Mr. Walkinshaw, a former member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, is not calling for reducing the county car tax, suspending the state gas tax or rolling back the county meals-tax surcharge.

Nor has he criticized his former board colleagues for squandering $300,000 on a county COVID-19 memorial unveiled at the end of September. He was likewise silent when the board voted, also late last month, to spend $900,000 for the design and permitting of what is being called an “arts hub” in Chantilly.

All this reflects the fact that, in Democrats’ minds, government can never make do with less, much less endure a bit of budgetary belt-tightening.

If Republican campaign consultants are worth their salt, they should easily be able to turn around the affordability issue on the Democrats — and not just in Virginia.

We cannot afford for them not to.

• Peter Parisi is a former editor for The Washington Times.