4 Scenes from Scenic Florida

Written by RWSPISAK on 6 May 2008 — 2 Comments

Four Scenes from Scenic Florida
RWSpisak

scene 1: The ocean is vast. The ocean is dangerous. What’s a litttle fish to do? Swim in a school.
The Republicans, despite 13 million years of evolution, swear that is a conspiracy. They deny it’s true.

They deny it from their country clubs and gated communities. They deny it from their mutually interlocking
boards of directors. They complain about it at their fratern ities and college prep schools. They denounce it from their business clubs and alumni associations. They complain about it at their exclusive members only private clubs. They pay their lobbyists to deny it. And they denounce it as a conspiracy of little fish, who have the temerity to refuse to swim alone, and just be LUNCH.

scene 2: A business association in Stuart, Florida, a group of business men and women listen as Florida Republican Legislator Gale Harrell explains that the draconian budget cuts that will stem from the Republican Legislature’s sleight of hand property tax cuts will have no impact on services. There will be no impact on education. It will simply result in greater fiscal responsibility and local control. Since Florida is largely dependent on property taxes for most governmental resources how can cutting these funds not hav e a dramatic impact on local governmental services.

It’s very simple she explains, with the burden of funding governmental services shifting from statewide government to local government think what fiscal responsibility we’ll be cultivating. I asked, ” Won’t poor communities suffer, and affluent communities both be dependent on a smaller resource base?” But despite logic she continued; It won’t impact schools, or police and fire or any important services since local government is inherently more responsible than state officials. Marco Rubio Republican Speaker of the Florida Legislature said, the tax changes will result merely in a shifting of budgetary burden from the state level to local government.

scene 3:
The legislature has completed it’s 2008 legislative session. The state budget has fallen based on propoerty taxes, which in turn are dramtically impacted by the on the falling value of homes. The state budget shrinks and schools will experience reductions in staffing and per pupil spending. Police and fire funding will be greatly reduced. And while per pupil funding falls and tuition gets steeper. And promised scholarship money and student loans dry up. Money for prisons has been found. No corporate tax loophole have been closed. Remember they all assured us, there will be no impact from the tax reductions.

scene 4:
Do not swim together little fish, its better if you swim alone. Despite the wisdom of all life. Despite the wisdom, of solidarity.

2 Comments to “4 Scenes from Scenic Florida”

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Terry Stedman

6 May 2008 at 09:13 | Permalink

Hey, just wanted to point out that the state budget fell because sales tax collections went down. The state’s main involvement with property taxes is limited to Required Local Effort, which is the state-mandated school property tax. My understanding is that the legislature actually increased those taxes marginally to offset some education cuts.

Florida’s budgetary problems come in two layers – the state’s revenue is down due to the recession, and local governments’ revenue is down due to both falling real estate values (impact is probably minimal this year, since taxable value of real estate lags by a year or so; next year this will be a real problem for local governments) and state-mandated rollbacks and limitations (which is the main cause for budget shortfalls by local governments).

This is a double whammy not only because both levels of government are cutting services, but also because neither side can cover for each other. State government can’t really pass the buck down to local governments, and local governments can’t rely on state funding to help them out.

It also means that the economy isn’t going to be revitalized by any level of the government. As I see it, the only way Florida is going to get out of a recession is by hoping the whole national economy will improve.
RWSPISAK

6 May 2008 at 09:40 | Permalink

While you are right property taxes are only part of the problem, and I might have elucidated the sales tax component. But my primary argument is that there is a parallel argument about burden sharing that is as applicable on the community level and on the organism level.

The same reason that INSURANCE risk is shared is comparable to why the shared risk of swimming in the sea – shared Risk and shared Burdens. It’s why nations have allies, and some workers have UNIONS.

Its’ the same issue. When I hear republican legislators glibly explain that there will be no impact, or by passing the burden from the state to the county, or city or township, simply runs counter to logic. Having seen the shenanigans at the local governmental level – there is nothing about local government that is inherently more responsive or more honest.

And when you add in the fact that all Floridians are served by state resources, the wealthy and the poor, alike. Poor communities shouldn’t be reliant solely on their own resources nor should our gated communities live in a separate and UNEQUAL Florida.

Thanks for commenting

RW Spisak
janhuss@bellsouth.net