Surplus? Not So Much, Say Virginia Governor's Critics

It's only a surplus if the state refuses to count the stuff it can't pay for

Gov. Bob McDonnell's so-called $450 million surplus is absurd, critics say.

"Any governor can claim a surplus at this point that is a total fabrication, and I guess, just hope to keep the lie alive until they get out of office, and it'll be somebody's else's problem," Frank Keegan, editor the nonprofit Sunshine Review's State Budget Solutions, told Virginia Watchdog.

For the third year in a row, Virginia finished its fiscal year with a "surplus" by raking in more revenue than expected and spending less than was budgeted — at least, on paper.