Glenn Youngkin unveils Day One plan

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Republican nominee for Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin unveiled his Day One game plan Monday, if he is elected governor. The plan outlined a number of proposed policies including a number of tax cuts.

“The cost of living in Virginia is too high and so we’re gonna go to work brining down the tax burden on Virginians by eliminating the grocery tax, by suspending the gas tax, by actually increasing the standard deduction by a factor of two,” Youngkin said.

Youngkin’s proposed plan also includes tax rebates of $300 for individual tax payers and $600 for couples filing jointly.

The money for the tax rebates would come from the state’s current surplus, which Youngkin says is a result of overtaxation by the state’s democratic legislature.

Youngkin also plans to invest money into the state’s human resources to help prevent continued staff shortages.

“We have to invest in law enforcement, in the mental health system and in schools, and a big part of that is raising compensation so that we can in fact fully staff and we must do this in order to have an excellent school system and to have the safest communities in Virginia,” he said.

Youngkin’s opponent, former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe, says the Republican’s tax plan would be devastating for the state.

“His plan would bankrupt the state, it would run our economy into a ditch, and don’t take my word for it, the Washington Post editorial board, Roanoke Times have all said it’s an unrealistic plan,” said McAuliffe.

McAuliffe touts his own economic record, as well as the recent ranking of Virginia as the best state in the country for business.

“We’re the best state in America for business two years in a row, that’s because the Democrats have been in charge,” said McAuliffe. “When I took office eight years ago our economy was in a crisis, we had the great recession, we had sequestration, we had the most anti-women, anti-gay legislation in America and I ended all that and built a robust economy with hundreds of thousands of new jobs.”

Youngkin also touted plans to create 20 new charter schools and raise the state’s education accreditation standards.

“Virginia sees the standards for our children actually ranked 50th for reading and for math, and we are going to bring up expectations for our kids,” Youngkin said.

He also plans to make major investments in the state’s mental health programs and facilities.

“We’re gonna need to invest in more professionals, better pay and better staffing, we’re gonna have to invest in facilities, and we in fact have the funds in our budget, we have the funds coming from the ARPA [American Rescue Plan Act] money from the federal government to do exactly that, and I will prioritize that,” said Youngkin.

Youngkin and McAuliffe will meet on the debate stage for the first time September 16, at Appalachian Law School in Grundy, Virginia.

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