On a separate note, "Jeb!' has created quite a legacy for himself. There will be no need for a portrait of "Jeb!" to hang in the Capitol, 2when we will have reminders of him every day, long after he has left public office; every time we drive by a school we will see monuments to our "Jeb!" because "Portable classrooms may be here to stay".
No Kidding - "Gov. Bush is not showing leadership in malpractice insurance issue. . . . When will the governor learn? Obstinate ideology won't improve quality health-care options for Floridians." See "Stubborn stalemate".
It's A Start - "Florida is taking one small step forward to help ex-convicts more easily return to a normal life after leaving prison. Bigger, bolder steps must come later. State corrections officials agreed to a sensible deal to settle a lawsuit by civil rights groups and some black state legislators. They promised to help restore the right to vote to thousands of ex-felons. That's a move in the right direction, but doesn't go nearly far enough." See "Help Ex-Felons Back To Normal".
Corporate Voucher (Non)Accountability - "Here is the official position of Jim Horne, Florida's commissioner of education: Private-school parents are better than public-school parents." See "Going public with his priorities".
See also "School double standards" [from 8/3/03]: "For a man who sees his job as holding a gun to Florida schools, Education Commissioner Jim Horne turns mellow about vouchers. Private schools receiving public money don't need standardized tests, state certification of teachers or an approved curriculum, and the state doesn't need to worry all that much about financial audits. 'The primary accountability and responsibility,' Horne says, 'lies with the parent.'"
"This line of logic is also embraced by the organizations that are dispensing school vouchers, the groups Horne is supposed to regulate. In fact, Tina Dupree, director of Miami-based Florida Child, the state's largest corporate tax credit voucher organization, was more blunt in remarks recently to the Miami Herald. 'If the parent is satisfied,' she said, 'why should (taxpayers) even care?'"
Sales Tax Scam - "Remember when state and local sales taxes were deductible on your federal income tax returns? That was the case until the 1986 'tax simplification' bill was passed by Congress and signed by President Reagan. The bill ended all kinds of tax loopholes and dodges, including the sales tax deduction. However, state and local income taxes, and property taxes remained deductible. Several Florida lawmakers think that's unfair, since Florida and seven other states (Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming) don't have personal income taxes. If you don't pay a state income tax, you can't deduct it from your federal income tax the way taxpayers in the rest of the states can."
"Why would they want to give extra encouragement to those eight states to continue avoiding a personal income tax? The obvious argument is: Why should taxpayers in some states be rewarded for not paying a tax that people in most other states do have to pay? Florida has had a prohibition against a personal income tax in its state constitution since 1924. No serious effort has ever been made to repeal that prohibition, which was approved by a statewide referendum, and the idea of a personal income tax is generally considered political suicide. (Voters did approve a constitutional amendment authorizing a corporate income tax in 1971, at the behest of Gov. Reubin Askew, who had campaigned on the issue the previous year.)" 7:47 AM
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