Bonds? You don’t have to pay those things off do you?

Oh — you do? You sure? Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Virginia lawmakers are divvying up $1.4 billion in bricks-and-mortar projects and handing an unexpected goody to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine: an appointment to the powerful agency that oversees corporate Virginia.

In unanimous votes, the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate yesterday endorsed a plan to finance through the sale of taxpayer-back bonds 75 construction projects over the next six years.

The bond bill will provide building funds for colleges, mental-health facilities, parks and state offices.

The projects include the purchase of an office tower in downtown Richmond to house the tax department and a replacement for the art deco-era hospital on the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Elsewhere, the package includes $110 million to replace Western State Hospital, a state psychiatric facility; and $82 million to improve mental-health facilities.

Repeat after me: $1,400,000,000.00

3 thoughts on “Bonds? You don’t have to pay those things off do you?”

  1. I can’t fault the intended use of the money – essentially for the most vulnerable and defenseless of society….

    but all things DO cost money..and one way to better shed light on this .. and other bond issuences – both State and local is to do the numbers.

    Say… 1.4 billion financed at 30 years probably will result in 3 billion paid back.. now divide that into 7.5 million citizens to get each of our share.

    $400 by my math… then divide that by 30… = 13 bucks and some change per year..

    check my math…

  2. I’m not sure what bill this was, that included the bonds but here’s the closest I can find:
    http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+sum+SB795

    The fiscal impact statement has a breakdown per year for the debt service:
    http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+oth+SB795FS1122+PDF

    It also kinda hard to calculate exactly how many people are paying taxes, given that through about 18 years of age teenagers aren’t really paying that many taxes:
    http://www.coopercenter.org/demographics/sitefiles/documents/excel/popestimatesagesexrace/2006agesex.xls

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