Comment

Comment by J.R. on March 6, 2011 at 10:11pm

By the way, "Tamara" Stephenson, the State of Florida does not collect property taxes, the counties do. You posted your comment below that:  "Our state's main source of revenue is from tourism via the sales tax and property tax. Unions are merely a deflection from the real problems facing the state of Florida. The state doesn't save money, so when revenues decrease from the gigantic housing bubble that burst in our face, there will be a budget shortfall." This is total nonsense.  Tourism provides some sales tax income, but the vast majority of sales taxes in FL are paid by citizens who live and work in the state and there is no FL income tax. A state certainly can save and invest money when there is a budget surplus sufficient to do so.  The housing bubble bursting affected: (1) homeowners who were upside down in their mortgages, many of which had adjustable interest rates owners couldn't afford when the rates adjusted upward and/or when they lost their jobs and couldn't pay the mortgage;  (2) mortgage companies and banks that became insolvent and were sold or taken over by the federal government.  This largely involved the federal government and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that had purchased the paper on mortgage loans that should never have been approved in the first place.  So how, exactly did the "housing bubble burst" decrease state revenues?  The only way I can think of would be loss of some sales tax revenue on construction/building materials with a drop in new construction.  That doesn't hold a candle to the huge amount of money siphoned out of Florida's economy by labor unions.  It is a proven fact that unions ARE the predominant problem and major factor that drains FL taxpayers' money out of the State of Florida's economy and into the coffers of organized national/international labor unions. That fact has been acknowledged by Governor Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and you can't refute it.  Where have you been that you don't know this?  And where have you been that you didn't know there is already a budget shortfall?  And, if you don't know anything and don't have accurate facts to support what you write, why are you writing this nonsense? The answers are obvious and these are rhetorical questions only. Don't bother to answer them or address anything else to me, for I won't waste my time responding.

Comment by tamara stephenson on March 6, 2011 at 9:35pm

Sorry for misstating your post. You said unions are bankrupting our state. Not sure I saw a statistic on that either. The St. Pete times said the loss of revenues from Internet sales was estimated to be 2 to 4 billion dollars. I never said we could legally get those taxes, I was merely saying that we have a loss of revenue in the state which is the cause of our state's budget crisis.

I commented on save our homes because that is a redistribution of wealth when the only reason one person pays more than their neighbor isbthe amount ofntime a home is owned. Since it is a state law, pushed by our illustrious former governor, a lib if there ever was one, I am pretty sure duval county can do nothing about it...and yes, I was smart enough to have my property reassessed. Just because you don't like what I post, please do not call me names or imply that I did not do my due diligence in getting my property assessed. I can assure you that I am not John Stephenson, and I am truly offended by that remark.

I am prettybsure we as members of fctp can address issues we believe are important. I truly believe the union argument is a diversion from the task at hand, getting our state back on track. We are all entitled to our opinions.

Comment by J.R. on March 6, 2011 at 8:18pm

Rubbish!  In the first place, I didn't say our state is bankrupt, "Tamara" Stephenson. (Are you sure you're not John Stephenson by another name?  Your opining and writing are eerily similar.)  You need to re-read what I actually wrote. In the biggest economic decline in America since the Great Depression in the late 1930's, how can anyone claim that Florida still has substantial tourism as a source of state income? Tell that to businesses that depend in large part on that tourism that has gone down and will probably go even lower with the new increases in gas prices, food prices, cost of housing/lodging prices, clothing prices and on and on, ad nauseum.  There is already a budget shortfall on the federal level and many state and local levels---including in Florida---and there is no magic pill that is going to cure the growing economic problems.  If your property taxes are a problem, address that to the county, file a timely appeal, and request a re-valuation of your property, that is unless you missed a deadline and failed to do so earlier. 

Florida has no control over internet sales and no legal entitlement to those sales.  Products and services in Florida are also available for purchase on the internet and people from other states and countries purchase them.  And you provide no statistics to support your assertion that $2B to $4B is lost each year from internet sales. People have a right to purchase from any legal source they choose. And, people are simply, by necessity, tightening their belts and counting their pennies and, except for recent Christmas season, have been forced by rising prices, foreclosures, bankruptcies and, for many, loss of jobs/income to seriously reduce their spending.  Also, as any reasonable person would know, we can't in this forum discuss all financial problems... particularly those of which we are unaware. Some problems you identify, you have to just address on your own. 

As to your statements, assessments, questions and complaints, some are scattered and unfocused.or answer. The Tea Party does not exist to solve everybody's gripes, issues and problems.  Rather, it's here to: (1) help solve problems with government and elected officials at all levels and keep all of them honest and accountable;  (2) work to elect solid conservatives who will serve the best interests of the people they represent; (3) return our country to its founding principles and our Founding Fathers' original intent;  (4) preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution and democratic republic; and (5)  assure that all elected officials honor their sworn oaths of office and uphold their ficuciary duty and trust to American citizens at the federal government level and Florida citizens at the state government level. I believe your questioning of our honesty is subjective and unfounded and our expressions of serious concern about what government and powerful private entities do---fail or refuse to do---and are, or are attempted to be prevented from doing cannot honestly and reasonably be classified as "rage."  That is not our purpose, our mission, our intent or our style. 

Comment by FCTP on March 6, 2011 at 7:12pm

Tamara:  There is a lot wrong in our country and those that paid into Medicare HAD to pay into it.  It was an automatic withdrawal and now they are saying "sorry, we are almost out of money so too bad for you."  This was nothing more than a ponzi scheme and our government is responsible.  I am so sorry about your home value situation and yes we do care.  We care about everything that takes our liberty away from us.  Everyday there is some one on this site asking why we are not going after this or that and candidly, we are a small volunteer group and we do our best.  There are days I want to stand up and scream because there are so many issues and not enough people or time to address them.  We need people to take one issue and get a team together and run with it.  That's the only way we can handle the load of issues.  They are strategically dumping one issue after another to force us to just give up.  God help us.

Comment by JL Gawlik on March 6, 2011 at 7:02pm

Meant to add also,  our state is NOT bankrupt, it has budget shortfalls that must be dealt with through it's budget and spending. 

 

Spending needs to be addressed, in our state, in our city, and in the federal government.

Comment by John Harvel on March 6, 2011 at 7:00pm

JL & JR... CAFR1 suggests, what Walter calls, a Tax Retirement Fund. Kind of a "if you can't beat them, join them" scenario. What I see as a natural occurring Fascist State through government funds, should be recognized as a problem, not a solution to end taxation. Lawmakers need to change accounting laws to favor taxpayers, not hedge fund operators or banks. In the computer age there is no need for such a long interval between the budget and the release of CAFR's. Since this is such a wide spread problem, the solution will have to come from the grass roots and work it's way up through local communities, states and federal agencies. Money that accumulates in these funds are at risk of manipulative skimming. It doesn't seem to me this is a very sound practice to allow corporations to be controlled with taxpayer money by people who's intent is the destruction of our society. Since 2001 we have lost 41,000 manufacturing companies. They have either shut their doors or moved off shore. Some say it is due to taxation or about cheap labor. Maybe there is a more valid explanation. Maybe it's shareholders pressuring them to move off shore.  

Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason... Ovid

Comment by JL Gawlik on March 6, 2011 at 7:00pm

Tamara, starting this year because of the aging population Social Security is giving our more than it is taking in because of the aging population is retiring. Same with Federal, State, and city pensions. More money is going out than is being taken in through these funds. The whole save our homes program is a bust because of the sublime loans given out to many people who could not afford home ownership in the first place and processing these loans at such a horrific pace drove up home values because of the artificially created demand by relaxing the standard banking rules. Congressmen Dodd and Frank were questioned about this practice in 2005 but they said there was no problem, not to worry. 

Interesting to add, that credit unions and small local banks are loaning money out, because they NEVER dropped their practice of down payments equitable to loans that have been long established in the banking industry. A good question would be WHY DOES OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT owned over 40% of U.S. mortgages through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae?

Comment by tamara stephenson on March 6, 2011 at 6:18pm

j.R.., to say our state is bankrupt because of labor unions is just untrue. Our state's main source of revenue is from tourism via the sales tax and property tax. Unions are merely a deflection from the real problems facing the state of Florida. The state doesn't save money, so when revenues decrease from the gigantic housing bubble that burst in our face, there will be a budget shortfall. However, save our homes sure doesn't help matters because the state doesn't even collect propert taxes equitably. We lose 2 to 4 billion dollars per year from internet sales. How many dollars have counties lost, not from the evil unions but from the MERS database set up by the banks to avoid dock stamps as mortgages changed hands. Where is the outrage from that? And when I say we do not talk about the financial crisis, I should have qualified it...we are not discussing it honestly.

Comment by J.R. on March 6, 2011 at 6:05pm

Strange that anyone would say we've not been talking about the financial crisis in our state, when that statement completely denies the fact that on this very website we have been writing about it all day today, as well as on many other days.  Labor unions bankrupting our state IS a financial crisis---one for which all taxpayers in Florida will have to foot the bill, including everyone who is forced to pay more and more property taxes and other fees and costs for FL counties and state government to continue to operate. Without the huge transfer of wealth out of FL to the labor unions, we would have a healthier economy.  Being in the red financially, results in deficit spending that is an even further drain on Florida's economy and causes increased inroads into taxpayers' money, as well as many other drawbacks to economic recovery and rebuilding.  Every future monthly transfer of wealth, ie. county and state-collected union dues, out of the state will dig us into a deeper and deeper financial hole. None of us have anything against public employees' getting pensions and benefits, either.  However, we taxpayers just don't believe it's our personal responsibility and obligation to pay for them and pay to subsidize the transfer of wealth out of Florida to unions and Democrats. And, frankly, I've not heard or read any legitimate argument that we should.   

Comment by JL Gawlik on March 6, 2011 at 6:03pm

Please forgive my grammar and misspellings... *G*

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