Florida’s basic infrastructure may be splitting at the seams, but that doesn’t appear to worry Governor Jeb Bush, who said the upcoming spring legislative session will include some of the most dramatic proposals for reform since his first year in office and that substantial tax cuts are at the top of his list since Florida’s hot economy has generated a budget surplus of more than $3 billion for the state.
I am not an economist, I only play one on this blog, but the idea of cutting taxes when Florida’s education system booms with skyrocketing growth is irresponsible. The so-called surplus Bush refers to is directly linked to the real-estate market boom and construction and home improvement sales brought upon by the last two years’ hurricane season. In other words, Florida’s extra revenue is coming from thousands of new residents and acres of redevelopment which need to be budgeted for at some point. Our state government is getting a chance with this surplus to pay for the programs and services it will need in the very near future.
But with only one year left in office, Jeb Bush is concerned primarily with his political legacy, not this state’s future.
