The State of Florida's Governor Jeb Bush has found himself in the unique position of a significant budget surplus. It sure doesn't happen often and let's hope his brother doesn't hear about it. Brother George took the Federal budget surplus and turned it into record deficits so fast it was spooky, but we will save that for another post.
The cost of collecting tax money is not cheap. Bureaucrats with benefits and state cars have every method available from fees like license plates to just plain tax bills that were processed and mailed. The cost to collect taxes is significant.
Governor Bush now wants to refund $100 to each resident homeowner for a total of about $500 million. Of course that will require bureaucrats with benefits and state cars and all the is required to process and mail the checks. The cost to refund taxes is significant.
I could use the $100, but so can Florida's roads and schools. Why not split the money between the two projects ? You have already got it, and the schools and roads are in need due to Florida's rapid growth. Or put some of the money aside in preparation for tha major hurricane that will hit Florida some day. We just ask you to plan better for next time so that you are not collecting too much to begin with. That is our suggestion, what do you think ?
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2 comments:
So, it would be okay if your mechanic gave you an estimate of the charges, required prepayment, and then didn't refund the difference when the total was less than the estimate? Well, it wouldn't be okay with me.
If he decided that there were some "other things" that he could work on to put the money into, eventhough myself, my husband, the mechanic and his staff and already agreed that no more should be done at this time, I wouldn't be okay with that either.
The idea behind budgets is that everyone agrees beforehand what should be spent where. Allowances are made for emergencies, but that doesn't mean that whoever has the checkbook can spend the surplus as he or she sees fit.
I agree that breaking even is ideal and the ultimate goal, but are you saying that, on your federal tax return, you "plan" so that you neither overpay or underpay your taxes? The next time you're owed a federal tax refund, why don't you just tell uncle sam to "spend it as he sees fit"?
GIVE IT TO THE SCHOOLS!
My gosh, I don't know the legalities of dealing with budget surplus. But when there are schools talking about laying off teachers (!) to deal with their deficit (Pinellas schools) ...it would be a disgrace to not at least seriously examine helping the schools.
This is not car repair we are talking about. This is the futures of the children of Florida ...and the future of Florida itself.
Yes, budgets are important. Let's look at a different analogy... What if you have a home budget and get an unexpected large bonus or profit-sharing check. Do you give the bonus back to your employer? Or perhaps donate some to charity and use some for the home repairs that had been getting postponed?
The idea of budgets is that everyone agrees beforehand how the anticipated money will be spent. If the income falls short, the expenditures need to be trimmed (I believe in balanced budgets, rather than what we see too often in government). And if the income exceeds what was expected, there are many options. ONE of those options is to disperse the unexpected funds to citizens or shareholders. The prudent approach is to put a portion in savings, and then examine the various options for best investment.
Schools are one of the best investments a government can make.
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