Sink calls proposed revenue cap 'near-sighted'

CFO Alex Sink has come out against the proposed revenue and spending cap before the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission tomorrow. Read her letter to Chairman Allan Bense here.

"The citizens of our state, many of whom are overwhelmed by the rising costs of living, seek pragmatic solutions. TABOR, however, is not the answer," Sink writes, using the shorthand version of taxpayers' bill of rights.

Comments

Regardless where one is on the issue, wouldn't it be nice for our Governor to have an intelligent thought on this issue?

Alex,

Yes, there is great economic uncertainty right now for the state... that is why all levels of government should have been planning during the boom years. To me, their un-sound fiscal oversight has caused this public uproar... and unfortunately, I don't think your "the sky is falling" rhetoric will garner much support - similar to the unions with Amendment 1.

Sincerely,

Florida Taxpayer

Typical democratic liberal rhetoric.
Alex Sink is not listening to the people of Florida & their demands.

I support the Taxpayer's Protection Amendment

Typical republicon criminal rhetoric.
Alex Sink is listening to the people of Florida & their demands when they say STOP DIVERTING ATTENTION AWAY FROM YOUR FAILURES AND FIX INSURANCE!

I would support the Insurance Protection Amendment

Yes, how awful to make the government's budget grow at the same rate as a family's budget. Finally, Sink's inner tax and spend liberalism shows itself.

[Crusader]

Pretty lame letter.

I'd like for some Democrat to point out that it's the GOP-led governor and legislature that has dumped tens of billions of dollars in tax liabilities on local governments.

Alex Sink has never met a tax she doesn't like.

[Tom]

She is totally wrong, this is the best thing that could happen to Florida

Call everyone. Let's support the Taxpayer's Protection Amendment!

[Reality]

Sink is the only adult on the cabinet. TABOR, like Amendment 1, does nothing to change the failing tax structure of Florida. Wake up people!

How much you want to bet, the Taxpayer's Protection Amendment will pass tommorrow & go on the November ballot?

[Chris W]

10:39 - No bet - Florida is the place where voters *love* to cut off their noses to spite their faces. But five or ten years from now? Florida will suspend their version of TABOR and its supporters will move on to plague some other state.

Chris W, you are wrong. First, if this gets on the ballot, it will pass easily. Floridians has never voted down a property tax cut at the ballot box ever. Second, Florida is a very conservative southern state. Once it is in the constitution, it is very unlikely it will ever get repealed.
We don't have a majority of young people like Colorado. Florida has & always will be a low wage, low tax state.

[Buzzard]

Democrat limit spending? C'mon.

It's amazing that we have to learn the hard way that these radical tax initiatives benefit no one but big business, and conservatives trying to get re-elected. Please Floridians for once learn from the mistakes other states have made. The evidence is out there - Prop 13 in California led to gov't deregulation, chaos, Wal-Marts everywhere, and finally Enron. Colorado is running in the opposite direction from it's failed "reforms"

Florida taxpayers have already voted for substantial tax cuts, which will be further augmented when reduced housing prices are reflected in upcoming tax bills. Be responsible; don't let the GOP rush us into making a mistake we're going to regret, just to promote their own selfish agendas.

[Don't Blame the Government - Blame the GOP]

An example of why our taxes are high.

From a current report on CNN:

The report said that Afghanistan's biggest donor, USAID, the U.S. government's aid arm, allocates close to half of its funds to five large U.S. contractors and that "it is clear that substantial amounts of aid continue to be absorbed in corporate profits."

The five companies are KBR, the Louis Berger Group, Chemonics International, Bearing Point and Dyncorp International, the report said.

"nearsighted'

a bit ironic cming from Ms. Sink

[Will]

9:01

You must be on crack, i have visited various parts of California, and Walmarts are few and far between.

[Dee]

Mrs. McBride is nothing more than a tax and redistribute liberal that is lashing out because it is becoming increasingly obvious that liberals will no longer be able to advertise Florida as a great place for the reliable votes of freeloaders and interlopers to come.

Good that she is exposing her true political character in such a high profile manner. This will serve to restrict her future political upward mobility.

Will -

Excerpt from Wiki article on the effects of prop 13 in California. (Best I could do on short notice.)

1.) rezoning to encourage more Costcos and Walmarts.

2.) Urban sprawl.

Doesn't sound like it's exactly been a boon for your selfish realtors either.

Here's the entire paragraph:

California localities have taken measures to offset Proposition 13 revenue losses. Some newer cities or established cities experiencing rapid population growth such as Irvine and Roseville have carefully incorporated sales tax revenue generators into their city's general zoning plan, while others have used eminent domain and redevelopment laws to condemn blighted residential and industrial properties and convert them into sales tax generators such as shopping malls, multi-dealer "auto malls" such as the Cerritos Auto Square, and strip malls anchored by big-box stores such as Costco and Wal-Mart. Cities that have been notably successful with this strategy include Cerritos, Culver City, Emeryville, and Union City. However, the spread of big box retail is considered another major factor behind California's severe housing shortage, as cities have routinely rezoned vacant parcels and "blighted" neighborhoods for retail in an attempt to increase their share of the sales tax pie. With developable land made scarce by open space preservation laws and by the resistance of single-family homeowners to up-zoning, the resulting market pressures have led to urban sprawl that has brought formerly rural areas like the Antelope and northern San Joaquin Valleys into the urban areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively.

[Will]

Well i have traveled san francisco to above sonoma county in the redwood forests, and LA County, and per capita the amound of walmarts are about 10% of Florida. Its very hard to find them, and you have to drive a ways.

Wal-Mart California:

http://www.walmartstores.com/FactsNews/StateByState/State.aspx?id=5

9:01am,lol, Prop 13 in California has revolutionalized property taxes in California. The residents there love the spending cap and is thought as very successful to the people their.

The liberals and fatcats hate Prop 13.

[Will]

2:16

Thank you. There are 172 walmarts in CA, for a population over TWICE Florida's population.

Florida has 218 walmarts. So California would need about 450 walmarts to be equal in comparison.