Sure, the number is far too small to be anything but a symbol, but symbols matter, and this one shows an Administration that is very serious about our predicament (Richmond Times-Dispatch via Weekly Standard):
The grungy office space, used supplies and limited freshening of the official gubernatorial quarters paid off.
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s transition team has saved at least double its $40,000 goal during the switch from campaigning to governing.
Early estimates indicate McDonnell conserved about $80,000 of a $353,600 transition budget.
That’s a savings of over 20%, by the way. Attorney General Cuccinelli save $40,000 himself, as did Lieutenant-Governor Bolling (although that was largely due to the fact that the would-be transition office wound down quickly due to his re-election).
Here’s how important the symbolism can be: when yours truly began the transition from Jersey-born Yankee to, um, regional refugee (yeah, that works), it was just after Doug Wilder had taken office. I heard complaints about Wilder’s transition and inauguration spending for months afterward, even as he heroically stared down his own party on spending and refused to raise taxes.
By contrast, McDonnell has shown voters he’s serious about cutting spending, including his own when necessary. That will go a long way to winnning support for getting us through this budget cycles without a tax increase.
Cross-posted to RWL
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