Guest AuthorI’ve watched with interest the debate about Florida’s Stand Your Ground laws over the past six months, and applauded the young Dream Defenders who have pursued their goals with courage and conviction.
But we are missing an opportunity to address issues of equality and fairness in Florida that have a far greater impact on many more Floridians. We must give much greater attention to issues that affect us to a much greater degree.
The growing income disparity in Florida, and in our nation, threatens to kill the American dream. The increasing number of workers who, absent pensions, will either not be able to retire, or who will require state assistance when they do retire, threatens to strain our budgets. The large number of African Americans we send to prison for non-violent crimes jeopardizes our ability to break cycles of poverty and criminal activity.
Our Legislature’s proposed solutions to these issues over the past three years have been weak and couched in platitudes about lower taxes or the free market. These aren’t solutions. They are dodges, perpetuated by people who have not faced these struggles and could seem to care less.
Income disparity? Give the corporations a tax cut and we’re sure it will trickle down.
A burgeoning population of citizens who live longer and have no retirement savings? Well, let’s cut pensions.
Prisons filled with people who are no danger to society? We should open more prisons and continue with mandatory minimum sentences.
The folly of these policies is plain for anyone to see who isn’t running for re-election. Corporate tax cuts don’t create jobs, seniors without retirements will cost taxpayers much more in the long run and we spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars housing non-violent criminals instead of turning them into productive members of society.
Although he didn’t invent the phrase, President Kennedy was fond of saying “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
Successful entrepreneurs, business owners and conservatives should take heed: when conditions for the middle class and the poor improve, that generally increases spending and profits.
Perhaps we can spend less time arguing over standing your ground and realize that we all occupy common ground.
5 comments
Tristan Lee
November 10, 2013 at 9:15 pm
#1 – This blog didn’t actually propose anything. So why even take the time to write it or publish it? #2 – Tax cuts can and sometimes do create jobs, proven fact, get over it. #3 – Because the good Senator doesn’t actually propose anything, I can only assume he thinks legislators should do something to correct income disparities. Is if flipping kidding? First off, the federal government does enough of that with the tax code already. Second, he literally is promoting the redistribution of wealth. Not even trying to hide it as something else. This guy is just as fringe as these tea party wackadoodles.
Jeff Clemens
November 10, 2013 at 10:21 pm
Tristan, fair enough. You claim I don’t suggest anything, but I would disagree. First, we have to stop the policies of the past three years that have been aimed at helping big business and ignoring the needs of average everyday citizens. You may not call this a policy suggestion, but I believe it is the most important one.
So we should stop our continued genuflection to big business in this state and concentrate on economic policy that benefits the middle class. Again, you may not call this a specific policy recommendation, but I believe more of our policy should stem from that basic concept. If you’re looking for more specifics, that includes things such as: 1) Stop going after the pensions of hundreds of thousands of workers, 2) Stop letting big business write our legislation, 3) Expand healthcare to another 900,000 Floridians by drawing down federal Medicaid expansion money, and 4) Boost the minimum wage, as it has become clear that wages have not kept pace with inflation, and the rich get richer while the poor get poorer.
I also mention ridding our state of ridiculous mandatory minimums that cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. It is an outdated and harmful policy that doesn’t meet the realities of our current situation. This is also a policy suggestion.
I would disagree with you about tax cuts creating jobs, unless they are specifically required to do so in order to get the tax cuts. States with much higher tax rates have been creating jobs at a much faster pace than Florida.
Tristan, all taxation policy is a redistribution of wealth. We have spent the past three years redistributing that wealth upward, to CEOs and big business owners. The question is, how do you structure that tax policy (and subsequent re-distribution) so that it is fair and gives everyone an opportunity to realize their American dream?
I appreciate the criticism, though. Perhaps in the future I will be less subtle and more direct. All the best.
CitizenMama
November 11, 2013 at 8:49 am
Here’s a thought: Take a closer look at corporations receiving tax handouts. Don’t rely totally on proposed average salaries–which get inflated by top-heavy executive salaries. We need to look at median salaries as well. Hand out report cards for corporate citizenship after the fact. Did they produce a number of well paying jobs with benefits, including health insurance? Or are their employees relying on public medical, food, housing benefits? Are these full time jobs? If a company doesn’t make the grade over a probationary period of tax incentives, then they should be required to pay back what the state and/or municipality lost. Florida is still an attractive place to work and live, even given the hits we’ve had to quality of life and our educational infrastructure. We don’t need to pimp her out. We need companies who are interested in building a better state for her people.
Tristan Lee
November 11, 2013 at 8:51 am
Thanks for the elaboration. 1. Job creation helps the middle class (and everyone) and the undisputable data says Florida is doing something right last couple years. Tell me what we’re doing right and how we can do more of it. Enough of the meaningless “stop” suggestions. 2. Pensions, agreed – but we can’t continue to afford giving new employees same deal. Even the private sector has realized that the concept of pensions was an unaffordable idea. 3. Agreed- the Medicaid drawdown (supported by big business :)) is Florida’s money. But it’s a short term thing to enable a transition for the HCRA. Florida’s tax structure needs major revision to catch up to the newer federal and practical financial realities Floridians face. 4. Already happens per state constitution. 5. Agreed – criminal punishment code doesn’t balance and hasn’t for a while. Really neat things done in juvenile system that could be emulated. There are good studies & examples too about which preventions & interventions produce net public safety & cost savings in adult CJ. 6. Simply not true. Period. Florida has been 2nd in job creation last couple years. You’re living in a fantasy world to say that states with higher taxes are producing more jobs. Seriously, you need to move on from that point if you actually want to do something positive. Peace!
Jeff Clemens
November 11, 2013 at 10:06 am
Tristan, I appreciate the feedback. Certainly data can be twisted in many ways. I’ve seen California ranked #1 in job creation in some data, Texas, in others. But most of the data reflects that Florida, Texas, New York and California have all been top 10 states in job creation over the past several years, despite the fact that two are considered high tax states and two are considered low tax states. Would you agree that these states have all done well in job creation, as the data universally suggests?
If so, it becomes clear that tax policy is NOT the reason for these gains. If Florida and Texas cut taxes and added jobs, and New York and California did not cut taxes and added jobs, that seems like some convincing empirical proof to me. And so, if we accept that truth, we have to look elsewhere to define our policy. It could be any number of factors, but the job creation success of so-called high tax states is telling.
To ease your mind, I am not suggesting we raise taxes to the level of those states. I’m just saying we need to concentrate on other factors that contribute to success in a more relevant fashion, in my estimation. Things that do attract families and businesses like quality education, protecting our resources like the Everglades and our beaches, and pro-family policies like low insurance rates and public safety. Instead, we seem to have focused on one driving policy (cutting taxes to big business) to the exclusion of others that I would consider more important.
I’ll try to be more detailed in the future. I sacrificed the details above for brevity and it came back to bite me! Thanks.
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