Thankfully, Floridians are waking up to that fact that our state leaders need to fix our shallow, unstable revenue base and invest sufficiently in K-20 education and other vital public infrastructure. Depending so much on sales tax for revenues, especially with the dozens of exemptions on the books, is not a sustainable way to fund the level and quality of public services that Floridians need now or in the future.
Further, recent efforts to destabilize Florida's property tax structure, depletion of reserve and trust funds, disproportionate allegiance to the low-wage industries of construction, leisure and agriculture, and political rhetoric that promotes a perception that government in any form is inherently "bad," have only exacerbated problems in what is already a weak fiscal underpinning.
Now, with Revenue Estimating Conferences continuing to paint a gloomy picture, steady population declines, complex demographic changes, and many public services in what can be described as crisis, the time is ripe to fix what is clearly broken. And this does not mean hiding behind stop-gap Federal stimulus funding and leaving it up to future leaders when circumstances will surely be worse.
What it does mean, to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities, is for Governor Crist and our state legislators to muster the political courage needed to develop pragmatic, long-term solutions. We will never have a 21st century economy and a well-educated, healthy populace without such responsible leadership dedicated to establish a strong framework for sufficient, sustainable revenues.
