Atwater: Not one more dime from Floridians
by Dara Kam | January 20th, 2010Senate President Jeff Atwater kicked off a meeting detailing the state and the country’s dire economic condition with a stern, no-new-taxes speech as lawmakers prepare another belt-tightening budget.
Atwater contradicted questions about how to close what could be up to a $3 billion spending gap this year, saying the premise was incorrect.
Florida will not spend more than what it brings in, Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, said.
“The people of Florida do not have one more dime to send us. So let me be clear. When it comes to constructing a state budget to meet the critical needs of the people in this state, I am not starting in a hole. I am starting from scratch,” said Atwater, who is running for chief financial officer. “We will not extract one more dollar from the small business owner of the state or from any Floridian’s wallet to accomplish the task.”
Atwater delivered his campaign-sounding remarks to a Ways and Means Committee meeting that he asked each of the Senate’s 40 members to attend. Most of them showed up.
“We should not allow the shrieking cacophony of special interests to drown out this simple fact. We have faced up to and made the difficult decisions. What we have not done and what we will not do is leave our sons and our daughters and future generations of Floridians with an intolerable burden of taxes and debt,” Atwater said, drawing the applause of the GOP members in attendance.
The committee is now hearing from university of Florida economist David Denslow and will hear from the legislature’s economist Amy Baker later.
Tags: 2010 campaigns, David Denslow, Florida Senate, Jeff Atwater, state budget
Where's the money? Use The Post's interactive database of who wants and who's getting federal dollars.
Use these interactive graphics to find and contact Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast legislators.
January 20th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Wow. Politicians are really getting the message of fiscal responsibility. It is unfortunate that it took millions of people attending the tea parties for them to get it, but better late than never.
The next thing we need to work on is holding them accountable.
Join the fastest growing and most powerful grassroots organization in South Florida -
http://www.SouthFloridaTeaParty.org
January 20th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
It’s about time ! PBC taxes up 15 %, Assoc. fees have gone from $300 per qtr. to $1,000.00 because of resident forclosures in our community. Can’t take much more…. Why doesn’t PBC realize they need to cut the budget to the revenue generated, not raise our taxes.
January 20th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Campaign rhetoric! True fiscal responsibility would be to reduce the size of government and state spending even more. Run it like a business not just a corporation that can look to the feds for a bailout.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
WTF is this right wing lunatic talking about? All that is done in this republican controlled state is pass onerous laws on personal freedom and raise taxes but call them fee’s. Have you recently tried to renew a tag, license, business license, pay insurance, property tax, launch a boat, and on and on. The repubs will raise or hang a tax/fee on breathing soon if they can. Remember our repub governer’s quote ” taxes will fall like a rock” Jeff, you are a big part of it you phony!
January 20th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
Real nice speech after being raped with all the tax increases this year.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:25 pm
Folks, there is really no need to put up with either democrat or republican lies. Just vote these dudes out of office. Send them back to their regular jobs. They have done nothing for you and I, but they have done wonders for special interest. We have a voice…vote them out!
January 20th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
I thought i was was being choked with taxes and petty little fees in Massachusettes, lol Florida is not much different. So you dont pay income tax in Florida but with all the fees here you might as well be. Florida, California and Las Vegas all seem to be in the same boat with job losses,foreclosures and big debt. Why not tax the hell out of every walmart and target on every block here, the cities gave them huge tax break to come here. Do you really think walmart is going to pull out of florida? Do we really need anymore of their plastic junk from China anyways?
January 20th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
I love all these anti-tax lunatics! Folks, do you realize that Florida has the fourth lowest tax burden of any state in the nation?!?! We have NO income tax. That is why our state is in a budgetary crisis. That is why we’re near the bottom in education funding and in graduation rates and testing, and attracting new business (because of an poorly educated workforce). Businesses won’t move here because of our sorry education system (what CEO wants to school their children in Florida?)
The U.S. is 19th in terms of the tax burdens of industrialized nations. Once again, low on the scale.
We don’t have a “high taxes” problem. We have an “Unequal Taxes” problem. Homesteaders pay a disproportionately small percentage of the pie. Small businesses pay a disproportionately large percentage. These are just facts.
Please stop caterwauling about high taxes. It’s just simply inaccurate. The facts don’t back up the lies. It may sound good on a protest sign. But it’s simply a lie.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Jeff –
You showed your true colors with SunRail. You had the chance to put some walk behind the talk, and you blew it, to the tune of $3 billion. That wasn’t free money, Jeff; that was my daughter’s future you spent there, for trains no one will ride. Take a hike.
Get involved. Make history. Flip the House.
http://www.southflorida912.org