The Poor Give, And The Rich Take - The Gainesville Sun puts it in blunt terms: "Sick Floridians literally will be forced to choose between paying the rent or paying for life-supporting prescription drugs."
"But while needy Floridians are giving, the well-off will be taking. Flagging state revenues notwithstanding, lawmakers say they have no intention of putting off a cut in the state's intangibles tax that will cost the state $100 million. Couples with taxable portfolios in excess of half a million dollars will get a $460 tax break next year, according to the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel."
"The poor give up (choose one) food, medicine or a place to live. The rich take another tax cut. That's fair, isn't it?".
Compassionate Conservatism - "Time is running short -- literally -- for 27,000 Floridians with catastrophic illnesses who depend on the state's Medically Needy program for healthcare coverage. Unless the Legislature comes up with some extra funding by May 1, the program will require them to live on only $450 a month to keep their benefits. That's a virtual death sentence for most on the program." See "A Needed Lifeline". How's that for compassionate conservatism? See also "Medically Needy plan blasted".
Bush, however, is apparently making a last ditch effort to "save" the program. This smells like a setup: we suspect that "Jeb!" will come riding in at the last minute and save the program.
These public employees were fired and "not even told why'', according to the article - if true, that is a flat out 14th amendment due process violation
Dead Last - "In November, an organization called the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research came out with a report on graduation rates. It horrified Florida education officials. The study looked at high school graduation rates in every school district in the nation, and then ranked the 50 states. Drum roll, please."
"But first, keep in mind that the study's designer says it carefully corrected for all the different ways various school districts and states count and report their rates. It did that to avoid apple-and-orange comparisons. You know, the kind that lets school officials pad numbers and use misdirection like a slick stage magician. This study purportedly has the rock-solid, actual-factual numbers, the truth that school officials could not deny."
Florida Times Union Loves Vouchers, Imagine That - In slamming an unnamed "left-wing columnist on a left-wing newspaper on the left coast of Florida" - the daily neanderthal editorial board misses the point on vouchers: the fact that vouchers are "popular" with GOP hacks in a handful of state legislatures (in cluding Florida) does not mean that vouchers actually work - in fact, private school students are not subject to the rigorous standardized testing as a public school kids (not that such testing is an accurate measurement of much, if anything).
Byrd Stiffs Farmworkers - "Florida House Speaker Johnnie Byrd is a Republican from Plant City, which offers at least two reasons why farm-worker advocates are having trouble getting a fair hearing on reform legislation this session. A bill that would give workers the right to sue growers in state court over minimum-wage violations is dying on House committee tables. Lobbyists for the Florida Farm Bureau and the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association oppose the measure, contending that it would be bad for business. Such a charge resonates with Rep. Byrd. He is from Plant City, the state's strawberry capital, and he leads a Republican majority that climbed to power on such special-interest shoulders." See "Liberate the pickers".
Bush "Belittles" Enviromentalist Concerns, Supports Delay In Everglades Cleanup - Bush - in his typical mode of argument - has been "belittling environmentalists' concerns over the bill as 'political correctness.'" We agree with the Daytona Beach News Journal, that "the process resembles political corruption more than correctness." See "Everglades retreat - Gov. Bush and Big Sugar endanger clean-up ".
Local Government - Except Broward County - Can't Go Greener Than The Rest of The State - "Broward Democrats scored a major victory in the Republican-led Legislature Monday when the county became the only one in Florida to be exempted from a controversial land-use bill. . . . The bill, being pushed by the Florida Farm Bureau, would make it difficult for counties to impose stricter environmental standards than the state currently has." See "Broward County claims land-use exemption". The more intersting story is how a bill like this manages to make it this far.
"Tax Reform", Yeah Right - "Say 'tax reform' and many state legislators duck and cover as if they heard "terrorist attack!". See "Enact Reform A Bite At A Time".
Judiciary In Trouble - "In a cry for help to salvage the operations of the state courts, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead has taken the rare step of writing to every member of the Florida Bar asking the state's lawyer corps to lobby against proposed budget cuts. Anstead is right to worry. The Legislature, and the House in particular, appears intent on balancing this year's budget on the backs of the medically needy, college students and Florida's judges." See "A call to save the courts".