However all of this shakes out in Tallahassee, including the specter of another less-than-special legislative session, this much seems assured: the Florida Legislature is a parallel universe. This state, which is obviously no longer in a mega growth mode, cries out for real revenue reform.
And yet it’s frustratingly apparent that the odds are better that a GOP-dominated body would rather work religiously on an anti-evolution bill or sectarian license plates than apply itself meaningfully to real-world priorities. Ironically, maybe a “God Help Us” plate would be all too appropriate.
While it’s understandable that many wax nostalgic for Gov. LeRoy Collins, no one should seek to perpetuate the sales-tax formula that dates to his era. Florida has a 10-figure budget deficit, one that will only be partly offset by the federal stimulus of $13.7 billion over three years.
And yet the “no-tax, yes-pander” crowd would rather consider up-front gambling money or under-the-radar-’til-the-last-minute, future oil-drilling dollars instead of equitable revenue reform. This is in addition, of course, to layoffs, service cuts, trust-fund raids, some fee hikes and more tobacco money – aka a voluntary tax.
Florida legislators continue to ignore the inadequate, antiquated, inequitable system that still countenances untaxed services, unwarranted sales tax exemptions and inexcusable inertia on untaxed Internet sales. Plus, the legislature remains chronically tolerant of corporate tax loopholes that shift income to lower-tax states and online travel companies that book hotel rooms without paying the full tourist tax.
Any wonder that Moody’s Investors Service has looked askance at Florida and put this state’s top-level Aa1 bond rating on a watchlist for a possible downgrade? The likely result of which, of course, would be Florida paying higher interest rates to borrow money. Which would translate, of course, into millions of dollars the state doesn’t have. And it could come within 90 days.
The Moody’s rationale: Florida is fixated on one-time income to pay too big a portion of recurring expenses. It lacks a strategy for restoring reserves spent down to avoid an unconstitutional deficit. Other than that, the Sunshine state is an avatar of financial accountability and foresight.
In effect, this state’s gutless, vision-challenged Legislature is telling Moody’s and the residents of Florida: “Nothing matters more than our self-serving, ideologically compromised, “no tax” mantra, and nobody matters more than certain, favored lobbyists.
“If we can help it — and you better believe we can — there won’t be any equity in taxation and subsequent revenue raising. Ever. It’s part of our birthright as Floridians. We’d rather gut services or drill, baby, drill. So, yeah, you can expect us to just nickel-and-dime-and-dollar higher education, health care, the Moffitt Cancer Center, Byrd Alzheimer Research Institute, the Ringling Museum of Art, Florida Forever, the Inland Protection Trust Fund, high school Advanced Placement courses, juvenile assessment centers, the guardian ad litem program and whatever else you politically puny, bleeding hearts think is so damn important.
“And don’t look for the ‘people’s governor’ for help. It’s not the Charlie Crist style. Besides, Jeb took the gubernatorial bully pulpit with him. Crist isn’t just ‘above the fray.’ He’s an empty suit preparing for that empty 2010 seat in the U.S. Senate. We don’t see much of him, whether we’re in or out of session. We hear he’s still waiting for insurance rates to ‘drop like a rock.’”