By ARTHUR G. PURVES

YOUR FEB. 17 editorial, "A tax-and-spend tutorial," gets an "F."

The tutorial acknowledges that Virginia's general fund budget increased $4.2 billion between 1997 and 2002, but claims the increase was necessary. Was it?

First, the tutorial understates the increase. Virginia's total comprises the general fund and the nongeneral fund. Total budget spending increased $5.5 billion between 1997 and 2002.

Next, the tutorial neglects to say that this increase was more than twice the amount needed to keep up with the growth in inflation, population and school and college enrollment.

Public-school spending per student increased 18 percent more than inflation, costing an extra $653 million.

Public-college spending per student increased 13 percent, costing an extra $371 million. Despite the 20 percent reduction in college tuition cited by the tutorial, per-student spending increased.

Court and prison spending per capita increased 28 percent, costing an extra $468 million. Welfare spending per capita increased 5 percent, costing an extra $307 million.

Per capita spending for resources and economic development increased 22 percent, costing an extra $126 million.

The smallest increase, of course, was for transportation, the government's lowest priority. Transportation spending per capita increased 4 percent, costing an extra $116 million.

The car-tax refund cost about $800 million. The total spending increase, in excess of inflation, population and enrollment growth and excluding the car-tax refund, is $2 billion.

The Roanoke Times tutorial suggests that the budget shortfall next year is about $1.6 billion.

If the state government hadn't spent the $2 billion windfall revenue arising from the dot.com bubble, but had restrained spending to population and inflation growth, there would be no budget shortfall. In fact, there would be an extra $400 million next year.

What improved as a result of spending an extra $2 billion per year? No matter how much government gives schools, the teachers union always wants more. More money doesn't increase student achievement.

What schools need more than more money is a back-to-basics curriculum, with phonics-based reading instruction and arithmetic taught with drill instead of hand calculators.

Regarding prisons, why we are incarcerating so many of our fellow citizens? How many of the inmates learned to read when they attended public school?

Since the Great Society social spending began in the 1960s, the percentage of African-American children born into single-parent homes has increased from 20 percent to 60 percent. For whites, the increase is from 5 percent to 20 percent.

Why do we persist in welfare spending when it destroys families? Welfare rolls may have decreased recently, but welfare spending has increased.

Will the governor, the legislature or The Roanoke Times ever examine the policies driving out-of-control social spending?

The cause of poverty is schools that don't teach reading, arithmetic or moral values. This is exacerbated by a culture that calls moral values optional and welfare that incentivizes and subsidizes family breakdown.

Also, zoning policies have made it impossible for low-income families to buy or even rent, without subsidies, a place to live, at least in Northern Virginia.

Over the past 20 years, Virginia government's fastest-growing program has been "individual and family services." When will the government figure out that only families can provide family services?

Finally, The Times bemoans Virginia's low tax rates when compared with the rest of the nation. However, you also note that while once Virginia was a poor state, it now ranks in the top 15 in terms of per-capita income. Did it occur to you that Virginia's rise to prosperity might have resulted from its relatively low taxes?

The most important service a government provides is an economy that has job opportunities for everyone. Higher taxes erode the incentive of entrepreneurs to create jobs and erode the incentive of citizens to take jobs.

Please contact your state delegate and senator and tell them to say "no" to the tax increases advocated by legislators from Northern Virginia.

ARTHUR G. PURVES is president of the Fairfax County Taxpayers Alliance in Vienna.