Republicans Hate Florida, Poor People, the Future

Orlando Sentinel:

Indeed, during the past nine years, lawmakers haven't raised a single tax and have approved a cumulative total of $20 billion in tax cuts, mostly benefiting corporations and wealthy Floridians.

In the process, they've made Florida even more reliant on the sales tax. Collections now total almost $20 billion -- or 75 percent of the state's recurring annual revenue.

So tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, tax increases for poor people and horrible fiscal stewardship that sets up the state to either destroy education and other services in the future, that's Republican economics for you. Shifting taxes from the rich to the poor is not only un-American, it's bad policy. What happens when the economy stalls and the middle and lower classes can't afford to buy big-ticket items? Oh yeah, you lose billions in revenue and everything gets worse.

Republicans Hate Rule of Law, the State Constitution

Naked Politics:

Judge Kevin Davey on Thursday week struck down as unconstitutional a new system of public defenders to handle conflict cases that can't be handled by elected public defenders. The GOP-controlled Legislature during the 2007 session created a system of regional conflict counsels as a way to cut down on the costs of hiring private outside attorneys.

But the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sued and Davey ruled that the Legislature exceeded its authority by requiring the new offices and that Gov. Charlie Crist exceeded his by appointing the five special public defenders. The court also quashed the appointments of the five attorneys who were tasked with setting up law offices.

Republicans don't have the power to do something like this. They don't care, they think that the rules don't apply to them, that they are allowed to do whatever it is they want to do. They're wrong.

Dorworth Hates America

He's barely been in the legislature for a month, but apparently Chris Dorworth has somehow managed to amass a "distinguished record" and has enough knowledge to come to the conclusion that Mitt Romney is the best candidate for president of the United States.

That makes it pretty clear that the voters who didn't show up to vote in the special election -- handing it to Dorworth -- have screwed not only the legislature, but the state of Florida as well.

Ambler Hates Democracy, Poor People, Honesty

The Buzz:

Given the terrible budget crunch looming for Florida leaders and the continuing cry for meaningful property tax relief, the timing could be ripe in 2008. So says state Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Lutz, in a "Political Connections" interview airing Sunday on Bay News 9. The tax initiative on the ballot Jan. 29 is just a first step and further relief will "require a creative look at how we raise revenue,’’ such as sales tax exemptions and taxes on internet transactions.

"Politics are a product of the times we live in, and politics is always about timing,’’ Ambler said in the interview that airs at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday. "We are really going to be confronting a very serious trough in our economy...I don’t think anything’s off the table when people are going to be looking at very, very potent cuts that are going to cause a lot of folks to perchance lose their jobs."

So Ambler favors cutting taxes on those that own property (primarily the rich) and raising taxes on those that don't (primarily the poor). It really is kind of a reverse-Robin Hood type of thing they're pursuing here. It's immoral, it's un-American and it's dishonest. Republicans claim they favor "less taxes." Unless, of course, you are more likely to vote for the other side, then you get "more taxes."

Simmons Hates Kids, Voters, Rule of Law

Instead of even attempting to comply with the will of the voters and the Florida Constitution, Simmons wants to change the law without even trying to make it work:

Rep. David Simmons, R-Maitland, said he will push for changes during the Legislature's spring session, hoping to "smooth out the rough edges and the inflexibility" of the current law.

...

His solution likely will be to continue calculating class size as a school average rather than count children in each classroom. That should meet the intent of the amendment, he said, while injecting it with a dose of realism. He thinks it could be done without asking voters for their approval.

Republicans Hate Fiscal Responsibility

A great post at Florida Netroots details the legislature's horrible practice of screwing local governments:

What happens when the Florida Legislature, which is in charge of the state budget, can't afford to pay for everything? It shifts the burden to city and county budgets.

According to the Florida Association of Counties a number of unfunded mandates are passed down to our 67 counties:

Medicaid - $213 million

Department of Juvenile Justice - $100 million

Revenue Sharing Loss - $262 million - Since 1999, tax cuts by the Legislature have resulted in a series of revenue cuts to county budgets

Court Facilities - $83 million

Solid Waste Recycling Grants Loss - $17 million - Counties are mandated to do this and costs initially were picked up by grants – which were later cut from the state budget.

Special Risk Retirement, Disability and Workers Compensation - These costs cover the special needs of firefighters and law enforcement personnel

Mental Health Treatment in Jails - actual dollar amount unknown, but this is a significant recurring impact to county budgets.

Environmental and Growth Management Compliance - actual dollar amount unknown but this is a significant recurring impact to county budgets - Completion of each county’s comprehensive land use plan requires that the plan has built-in financial feasibility

Zero Tolerance - $100 million

The quantifiable total is close to $1 billion in unfunded mandates - yet the financial impact of three mandates highlighted above cannot be quantified.

In other words, each year local governments are covering $1 billion of expenses that were historically the responsibility of the state, with no state funding support attached.

And while the Legislature is currently debating the largest local government revenue cut in state history, they are at the same time discussing additional unfunded mandates.

Read more...

Hello. I am this excellent candidate running against Kreegel. First time he has ever had opposition candidate. I look forward to speaking, reading and blogging with you.

Judy "JJ" Juliano