GOP Taxes - "And you thought Gov. Jeb Bush and the Republican-dominated Legislature were against raising taxes."
"While no one is using the T-word, that's what a plan allowing higher home telephone rates amounts to. Endorsed by the governor and many conservative lawmakers, this legislation would let local phone companies raise their basic rates - eventually up to 20 percent a year - in exchange for cutting long-distance costs. Even more unfairly, the rate hike would hit residents and small businesses, not large companies."
"This proposal is a slap in the face to consumers and it reeks of patronage for the telecommunications industry, which plied Mr. Bush and both parties with millions in campaign contributions. It's hardly coincidental the industry has more than 150 well-connected lobbyists prowling the Capitol." See "Call phone rate bill what it is: a new tax".
Budget Cuts - "When it comes to state budget-cutting, state lawmakers are wrongly wielding an axe instead of a scalpel . . . ." See "Budget-Cutting Goes Too Deep"
We Can Do Better Than This - "It isn't Freedom Fries or Freedom Toast, but you can find it on the same pseudo-patriotism menu." See "Posturing not patriotism".
Associated Industries of Florida Leaves A "Slime Trail" - The House and the Senate have moved workers' comp legislation.
"Both chambers' bills hurt severely injured workers, by making it infernally difficult to prove a permanent disability. Both make it harder for workers to navigate the system by discouraging attorneys from representing them. These reforms are made in the name of preventing fraud, which is undeniably a problem in Florida. But there's little confidence that they will actually achieve that end."
"As usual, the House version of the workers comp bill is worse than the Senate's. The slime trail on the current House bill leads right back to Associated Industries of Florida, a group that purports to be the voice of business in the state. That's problematic, because AIF's hands are soiled on this issue -- it owns one of the largest workers compensation insurance firms in the state."
"Looking at the final bill approved last week by the House State Administration Committee, it's clear that AIF has elevated the profitability of its own business above the needs of the hundreds of small businesses it's pretending to represent, and the workers who rely on the coverage their bosses are struggling to pay for. Maybe that's why nobody was allowed to see the latest version of the bill until right before it was hauled up for a vote."