dear virginia, i want my money back
by Liz Newton
Published: June 20, 2008
It is official; Virginia taxpayers are giving the families of the Virginia Tech shooting victims $11 million. As a resident, I mourn for the loss felt by the families of those slain. As a taxpayer in Virginia, I am infuriated.
Where in the state’s Constitution is the legislative or executive branch charged with the responsibility to reimburse the families of murder victims? Nowhere. And consider this: had I been murdered in a 7-11 holdup, Virginia would not be paying my parents the big bucks, but had I been a victim at Virginia Tech, my parents would now be waiting for a check. Why does the state have the power to deem the lives of the people murdered in the Tech shootings more valuable than any other murder victims?
While I am not pushing society to turn its back on the affected families, I do believe that the State of Virginia has no business compensating victims’ families - any victim’s family. That is not the government’s responsibility. Monetary compensation should be provided by private contributions, not by pickpocketing taxpayers. What’s wrong with using the Hokie Spirit Fund? I know it sounds strange, but it is a fund set up for people who feel like making contributions - voluntary contributions. It is programs like these which should go in the place of government involvement, not alongside government involvement.
Instead, families received a payout from the fund, and one from the state. There is hardly any point in private funds and non-profit corporations if the government is going to barge in and rescue everyone. (That’s unfair on my part. Technically, the state has no plan to rescue “everyone.” Because if you didn’t die in the Tech shootings, your death does not merit a tax-subsidized payout.)
Any way you cut it, the taxpayers lose big time and family members of non-Tech murder victims get a slap in the face.
The final score:
VA Taxpayers = -11,000,000
Big VA Govt. = A priceless PR opportunity
Each victims’ family = +$100,000
Law firm representing the families = +$750,000
Who are the real victims here?
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(11)
June 21st, 2008 at 12:35 am
Virginia is now for lovers and lawsuits! What a terrible precedent to set. Now Virginia will be responsible for any bad thing that happens within state borders. Brilliant. I’m glad I live in 2,000 miles away from the It’s All Your Fault State.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:42 am
As a Virginia taxpayer, I am likewise dismayed at this payout, but it would seem to me to be a pre-emptive ’settlement’.
With all due respect to Star, those of us who live just a bit closer to VaTech will remember that in the aftermath of the shootings a lot of noise was made over the ‘Gun Free Zone’ law which had been passed in the prior year’s legislative session.
Naturally, rightwing nutjobs (like me) pointed out that in skirting the second amendment, and even it’s own ‘concealed carry’ laws, the State of Virginia has taken away one’s right to effective self defense in those ‘zones’. In so doing, the state implicitly shoulders a greater burden in protecting its citizens from harm. Virginia clearly failed to do so in this case. An aggressive lawyer would have threatened to take the state to court and sue for liability. In the face of such a charge, $11 million seems cheap.
Can we get a discussion of ‘gun free zones’ now?
June 21st, 2008 at 10:28 am
A+
June 21st, 2008 at 7:08 pm
This is exactly how I feel about bailing out the mortgage debacle with taxpayer money.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Jane,
I agree completely, in fact at this point, what with the now-obvious tie ins between gas prices, food shortages, and whatnot, I’d like to see a huge reduction/rethinkiing of farm subsidies, price suports and tarrifs. But I think that takes us off topic here. :-)
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:34 am
Russ,
I’ll give you the gun free zone and raise you a “open carry.” I use to be a liberal fanatic, complete with the vegan diet and a radio constantly tuned to Air America. But, Virginia Tech really made me wish someone had been there to bust a cap on that lunatic. Unfortunately, my political biases didn’t jive with that wish. So I’m rethinking the biases. As far as subsidies go, I’ve got no problem there. It’s not like the “Farmers” who are receiving govt. handouts are Ma & Pa on 2 acres scraping to get by. The overwhelming majority of those subsidies go to enormous farming operations, or more accurate, they go to big businesses. And I can dig into big business without even having to rethink my politics.
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:01 am
Well, I don’t think anyone could have put it in better terms than the author herself. We are terribly sorry about the Virginia Tech shootings, but instead of paying the victims’ families $11 million dollars (why don’t we pay African Americans for their great-grandfathers’ enslavement and the 9/11 victims too!), how about we show how sorry we really are and allow responsible, mentally-stable people carry guns so they can pick off the rare, evil, lunatics like those responsible for Virginia Tech?
Yeah, let’s take away guns. All the honest, upright, law-abiding, citizens will not be allowed protection from all the immoral, evil, dishonest psychos who will disregard any anti-gun law and smuggle guns in and shoot people anyway. That way we can leave them all a clear playing field. I’m sure victims from future shootings will thank you for enacting no-gun laws to protect them.
I’m really not a gun nut, but please, the Founding Fathers put in the second amendment for a reason.
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Winston Phelps, They actually did give money to the victims of 9/11 as well.
Does anyone else agree with how ridiculous it is that the law firms that represent the families get some of the money? That’s really great use of the tax payer’s money.
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware of the government reimbursing 9/11. I agree if it was the government securing families who worked for the government. I mean, that means they got killed working for them. But I still do not think tax dollars should go to it. I would not mind contributing and would hope others would, too, but it should remain a voluntary humanitarian effort, not a forced tax.
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Lizwa,
as difficult as it is to say so, lawyers gotta eat too.
Winston,
there was a time no too long ago when there was very little government ‘help’ to be had for anyone. But it would be politically impossible to go back there. Besides which, as I pointed out earlier, the state could pay now or pay later.
July 1st, 2008 at 10:41 am
The 9/11 victims’ fund was established as a way to prevent all those families from suing the airlines.
The VA Tech payments are more or less the same thing. VA Tech is a public school, and therefore the responsibility of the VA government. A lot of things went wrong that day, such as taking way too long to respond, and also I believe they ignored a report from earlier that morning or something (I don’t remember the exact information…). So I think you have to look at it in the context of reimbursing folks for something that may have been avoidable by competent government action, but moreso as a bribe to avoid potentially successful lawsuits.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s right either. What *isn’t* avoidable by competent government action? And I was disgusted anyway that these families were lawyering up even before the candlelight vigils had come to an end. I’m just saying that this was a unique situation in that potential lawsuits were numerous, would look very bad for the state, and would be very likely to come out in favor of the families.
-fellow Virginian