“On behalf of the House Democratic Caucus, I offer warm congratulations to Representative Cannon. We look forward to serious discussions with him and his colleagues about the people’s business and how the Legislature should combat the economic challenges facing Floridians.
“As Representative Cannon and his Republican colleagues surely know, Florida is in a serious economic crisis. Our people are deeply worried about their jobs, their financial future, and their children’s education. Today should be a day to begin the healing in a bipartisan manner.
“Like Governor Charlie Crist, Florida House Democrats believe it is vital to use the federal economic recovery funds to resolve our current state budget crisis. We are hopeful that the governor’s wisdom on this matter reaches Representative Cannon and his colleagues in the House Republican Conference.
“It wasn’t ‘borrowing and rampant spending by the private sector’ that created this crisis. Rather, Florida is suffering significantly because of many factors, including the significant tax giveaways under Republican Jeb Bush’s administration.
“The impact of the Bush-era tax cuts is costing the state an estimated $3-billion or more annually. Failure to close loopholes that favor the very rich and special interests are the real culprits. These are the issues that we hope Representative Cannon and his colleagues show the courage to address in the upcoming legislative session.”
Clearly, there are two ways to balance a budget -- cutting spending and raising taxes. We've tried cutting things. It doesn't work and it has many other negative effects. It's time to raise taxes on those who use more government resources than anyone else -- the rich.
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