Start the Rick Scott Recall

Start the Rick Scott Recall

I get it we don’t like taxes. We think they are to high and the government lights cigars with hundred dollar bills. I get it. The thing is, taxes allow us to do collectively what we can’t do individually and unless you live in a cabin deep in the woods you are part of collectively, part of society and taxes are necessary.

I think taxes are to high for most of us but there are a few who do light cigars with hundred dollar bills that are unaffected by them. These are the people that governor claims we can’t over burden because they create Florida’s jobs. Well friends in case you missed it, where are the jobs, they don’t seem to be creating too many. If it is for this elite class that we give tax loopholes that cost our state billions, then I say we are not getting a very good return on our investment.

What good is it to have low taxes if our children aren’t protected and can’t be properly educated, what good are low taxes if our elderly aren’t taken care of and our rivers become polluted? What good is it to have low taxes, if our parks are closed and our quality of life is eroded? What good is it to have low taxes if our society crumbles down around us? Low taxes I might add that don’t benefit the vast majority of the states citizens. How is your bank account, mine was wiped out two weeks ago when I had to get new tires. I had to make the choice get new tires or get my tooth fixed; do you sometimes have to make similar choices?

Rick Scott through his budget proposal has shown us that the elderly, our children, the disabled, our schools parks and rivers don’t mater much to him. They matter a lot to me and I hope they matter a lot to you too.

The governor won the election after spending 79 million of his own dollars and now he wants the working middle class, our state workers, and our teachers to take a five percent pay cut. I remind you these people are not responsible for where the state finds itself. They show up work hard and educate our children or provide services and Scott wants them not the bankers and fat cats that reap billions in tax breaks through loopholes, to pay for our recovery. Furthermore is this the right time to pull billions of dollars out of the economy with these defacto pay cuts. Most economists would say empathically no.

His solution to the budget seems to be cutting jobs, teacher jobs, park worker jobs, and child welfare jobs among others. He says that through cutting these jobs more jobs will come to Florida. Friends Florida already has one of the lowest tax bases in the whole nation and no personal income tax. If jobs aren’t rushing to Florida now, then diminishing the quality of our education system, harming the environment through deregulation and gutting government services isn’t going to some how miraculously work.

Our low tax rate has been a double-edged sword too. Because our taxes have been so low Florida has been able to keep salaries stagnant, which means as costs rise, the middle class is harder hit here than in other states. How long are we going to sit back and just take it, or be tricked by talking pints or into believing that one day we to might be rich and when that happens why should we pay more taxes. Somebody making a million dollars is not going to suddenly quit, outraged, and take a job in a book store because the government takes half and they now only take home five hundred k.

I know that some of you that voted for Scott did so because it was like voting against Obama. I’ll be honest, I voted for Obama but don’t think, aha you got me and I am just spouting the lefts talking points because I am not a cool aide drinker. I don’t care who comes up with the good ideas as long as they are good ideas and Scott’s budget isn’t just a bad idea it’s a disastrous idea. Jacksonville’s public schools already cut to the bone are about to lose 91 million dollars.

But back to Obama, I am very frustrated and disappointed with him. But that doesn’t mean I thought Florida should pay the price for his policies. You don’t like Obamacare, all right I don’t like it either, but I don’t think our schools and our state parks, our children, elderly and disabled should pay the price for my dislike of it. This is not a republican verses democrat thing; this is a basic decency regardless of your party type thing.

Then does Rick Scott really represent you? Less than half of those that voted actualy voted for him, which means only about a quarter of all eligible voters did. Do you have a child or an elderly relative? Do you have a disabled family member, do you like to go to parks or live near the river? Do you care about the environment, or are worried that the rich are getting richer while you have trouble paying your rent or mortgage or have to decide between a tooth or tires this week? Are you a teacher or a governemnt work? If you answered yes to any one of these questions then just maybe Rick Scott does not represent you.

We want pension reform, sure, we want smaller government, I understand but don’t we also want a Florida that we can be proud of to be a state where we want to live. Let’s phase in pension reforms and lets find and eliminate waste but lets not throw out grandma and the baby with the bath water, which untreated will flow directly into our rivers. Lets tell Rick Scott he better start representing all of us not just the rich and those on the far right or he won’t be representing any of us much longer.