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Ashamed to be a Floridian
Posted: 3:55 pm
January 30th, 2008 		Post a comment
Uncategorized

Today is the second day ever that I am ashamed to be a Floridian.

Back in August of 2005, Florida got scraped by a little hurricane called Katrina. It proceeded to go around the panhandle and absolutely decimate Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Then part of Florida’s finest Highway Patrol got dispatched to the disaster zone to help with the crisis management, driving 10+ hours to the affected areas, just to immediately turn back and go home. These scumbags, supposedly sworn to protect us, drove across the state, tagged in, and because in the middle of the catastrophe their assignment wasn’t available immediately, they decided to turn back and go home – right away.

Today, we have yet again solidified our position as the most ignorant state in the union. We collectively decided to ignore the infrastructure, education and support problems that the state faces, and decided to give ourselves a well deserved property tax break. After all, who makes better financial decisions than the poor and lower middle class families that are not just taxed the most but hit with the highest insurance premiums and second most regressive tax system.. We elected to give a giant middle finger up to the education, debt payback, insurance reforms, infrastructure investments that would actually drive businesses into the State… and chose to get ourselves a little cash back that will just go to pay for fast food and a new iPod.

I am sad, ashamed and disappointed in this turn of events. We want to live in paradise, we just don’t want to pay for it. We want to have affordable education, we just don’t want to pay for it. We want to live on an acre of land, we just don’t feel like its our duty to pay for the road, power, utilities, police, fire departments and amenities required for us actually to live there. We want to drive businesses to the State, but we don’t want to train our population to work in the kinds of jobs that still make America competitive with the rest of the open WTO world.

It is called sacrifice folks, money does not grow on trees and we cannot pound the ATM window and cry every time we need more. This is the very basic fundamental truth of fiscal responsibility that seems to be lost from the highest levels of our government to the very lowest income families that today cemented our future for a quick and meaningless rebate. 

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10 Comments

jimebilly | January 30th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

There are a lot of people who feel the same way you do, but you will all cash those checks!



Amy B | January 30th, 2008 at 4:11 pm

So which Bush brother came up with this lousy idea first?



vlad | January 30th, 2008 at 4:13 pm

It wasn’t a Bush idea… Charlie Christ, republican.

-Vlad



vlad | January 30th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

Though to be fair – this isn’t a fault of the republicans, Bush family or any one scapegoat that can be pointed at easilly.

It is difficult to blame others for your misfortunes when you are given a CHOICE and you choose what is not in your best interest.

-Vlad



Jim Maher | January 30th, 2008 at 4:52 pm

All of that doesn’t sound like SACRIFICE, it sounds like INVESTMENT. And, for that matter, long-term investment. Doesn’t Florida have an aging population? Maybe that’s their reasoning?

We see the same short-sightedness in Illinois, but I believe we have a younger population – so lack your state’s convenient excuse. We just stoopid!



Michael D. Alligood | January 30th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Ahem brother. If there was any consolidation, my county overwhelmingly voted no on amendment #1.

Welcome to the Machine. Seriously I believe it is way to easy to vote.



richwalkup | January 30th, 2008 at 8:30 pm

The problem is that Floridians are not used to being taxed like normal states. I urge everyone in Florida to move to any other state that has a state income tax and then bitch about their high property taxes. If you look around most states take 1-9% of your income as taxable income payable to the state. If you’re REALLY lucky, you also have to pay city taxes too (sometimes in both the city you work AND the city you live).

Signed:
hiding in florida jumping though loopholes to avoid my fair share (no, really, I am)



Michael D. Alligood | January 30th, 2008 at 9:24 pm

just for those Florida public school graduates like myself, consolidation = consolation.



Sandi | January 31st, 2008 at 8:51 am

I agree with what Vlad said as far as the property taxes are concerned. But Vlad needs to get straight on the real story about Katrina and the Florida Highway Patrol. We had approximately 55 FHP troopers that were sent to help with the aftermath of Katrina. They were gone approximately 2 months before returning home. There was no communications, save for the rare cell phone that worked (if they held a charge). I’ve seen hundreds of pictures of what they dealt with and what they did to help, and instead of bashing them, the next time you need help, don’t call the FHP. Call your family, neighbor, friends and see how much they will do for you in a catastrophe!



vlad | January 31st, 2008 at 9:17 am

Actually, I do believe I have my facts correct. The initial group of FHP was dispatched, and upon arrival did not have an assignment – so they turned back. This was a big scandal for Florida, Jeb Bush (governor at the time) actually paid over forty officers to go Mississippi for two months and even went to visit them to save face.

My wife works for the law enforcement and while what I may be getting is just grapewine, the FHP sure sounds like the scum of the earth. According to multiple people I have spoken in both FDLE and police from Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, the FHP refuses to assist in traffic signaling in emergencies. Allow me to dumb that down:

The very law enforcement organization with the ways and means to patrol and manage our highways is unwilling to assist in closing I4 / I95 exits before hurricanes because they feel it is not their job to signal traffic! This is why it takes 3 days to make I4, Turnpike/I95 one way only so that people in possible impact zones can evacuate.

What is the FHP job? Handing out tickets?

-Vlad



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