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Kaine touts stimulus in Gainesville
Gov. Tim Kaine (D) stopped by Gainesville on Monday to stump for House of Delegates challenger John Bell (D) and to tout the federal stimulus program that he and other supporters say saved jobs here and across the country.
The governor addressed the criticism that Washington is spending too much money with the stimulus while the country is in debt and has a deficit.
“If you go into it and you have kind of an ideological attitude [of[ 'Well, you should never spend money,'" he said. "Well, we wouldn't have won World War II, you know? We wouldn't have built the interstate highway system. We wouldn't have created a GI Bill to educate veterans.”
He added, “Households go into debt to buy a house. If you couldn't buy a house unless you paid cash, we wouldn't have 65-percent home ownership in this country. We would have 20-percent home ownership. Wise use of debt to make investments for the long term is an important thing.”
Bell and incumbent Del. Bob Marshall (R-13th) disagree about whether the state should have accepted stimulus aid. Marshall voted to reject the money, citing that it was being financed in part by communist China and would mean more debt future generations would have to pay.
The Democrat said Monday that the difference is the government is supporting a hand-up, not a hand-out policy.
“We're giving them assistance that will help them succeed long-term, not just giving away free money," he said. Also, a good percentage of the stimulus package is tax credits or loan ability, not just straight-out giveaways.”
Kid Drop Zone owners Mike and Shelby Biancaniello said they asked about four or five banks last year for a private loan of $250,000 just before they opened their business. The money was intended to help them pay the salaries of the 23 part-time staffers (mostly from Battlefield High School) and one full-time staffer.
The common refrain the Biancaniellos said they heard is that their business model – giving kids a place to play for a couple hours each day – was good but there was not enough comparative data to support their claims.
Eventually, one banker stopped by and asked to help, eventually offering the $250,000 loan backed by the federal stimulus.
According to Recovery.gov, Kid Drop Zone received $250,000 as part of a package designed “to aid small businesses, which are unable to obtain financing in the private credit marketplace.”
“So, it wasn't a grant. It wasn't just handed out. It was a loan,” said Mike Biancaniello.
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