While we were gone, Charlie released his proposed budget for the 2010 fiscal year. Yes, I was excited (and curious) about that after dear Charlie told us that he wanted tax cuts.
For starters, not all of Charlie's brilliant ideas to lower taxes in the Sunshine state haven't always turned out so well. Remember Amendment 1 and how taxes would "drop like a rock?" Well, I guess Charlie does too, so he's trying to redeem himself.
From the AP:
One proposed amendment would put spending caps on cities, counties and other local governments with allowances for inflation and growth in new construction. Another would give tax breaks to first-time home buyers and non-homeowner taxpayers. The third would bar tax increases for primary homeowners if their property values go down.
So that leaves me wondering how the dude with a huge deficit, in a state that requires a balanced budget, in the middle of an 'slight economic downturn' is going to cut taxes?
The Miami Herald has the details:
* $529 million from a bottled water fee, 10 percent increase in motor vehicle registration, 10 percent increase in drivers license fees, increases in the solid waste disposal fee and the fee on overweight trucks.
* $300 million by bonding for prison construction
* $400 million in trust fund sweeps, leaving them virtually empty
* $274 million in trust fund reductions.
So, somehow betwee the stimulus package and all of this, we aren't going to have anymore budget cuts. I'll believe it when I see it. And, furthermore, when are we going to start restoring some of the programs that he's cut in the past few years?
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