Governor’s Action on the 2009 – 2010 Budget

“I am pleased that Governor Crist recognized the hard work of our dedicated state employees and thankful that he heeded our calls to veto the proposed pay cuts,” said Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (D-Tallahassee). “The cuts amounted to nothing more than an income tax for public employees, and the Governor recognized the tremendous impact they would have caused to an already difficult economy. As the Governor pointed out, public employees are part of Florida’s economic solution. His veto ensures they will continue to buy more dinners out, more haircuts and more small and local business purchases that will only stimulate our economy.”

 

“The work of our employees has a tremendous effect on Florida citizen’s quality of life. Law enforcement, hurricane preparedness, child protection, the education of our next generation of innovators, food safety, conservation of our natural resources, consumer advocacy with insurance, banking, and many other areas, are just a few of the ways that state employees keep us safe, healthy and financially sound,” Rehwinkel Vasilinda said.

 

Now that we have the path for next year’s budget, Rehwinkel Vasilinda said, “We need to begin to forge the path for Florida’s future.  How is it that the 20^th largest economy in the world fails to truly look at modernizing and reforming Florida’s tax, revenue and budget structure? We are a state that relies on sales tax, but don’t even adequately collect the taxes that Florida is already owed, as in the case of the tax on internet purchases; and leave many sales tax loop holes and exemptions on the books that benefit very few.”

 

“As we move forward, either next year or in special session, my hope is that we will have a true fiscal vision that addresses our economic climate head on without simply cutting, borrowing and raiding trust funds, it is the only way we will lead Florida through this current crisis and back into prosperity.”

 

From Adversity Comes Opportunity

On the opening day of the 2009 Legislative Session, Michelle spoke to hundreds of students and faculty members who converged on the Capitol to complain about budget cuts. You can see her speech here: 

 

Collect the Taxes Florida is Already Owed

Since our announcement on February 12th, with Senator Evelyn Lynn that we would pursue collecting the sales taxes Florida is already owed on internet and other repote purchases, at least four newspapers have editorialized that we are on the right path. Those papers include the Tallahassee Democrat, Florida Today, The Ft. Myers News Press and the Lakeland Ledger. You can watch a portion of the e news conference on Youtube.  

Here's why I think this is a good idea:

My grandfather used to tell me there was no free lunch. Now, some of our leaders are holding out their hand to Washington, looking for a bailout instead of looking within our state to see what we can do to help ourselves. While our economic plight might have gone untended for so long that we now need a massive stimulus, my mother was always fond of saying “ The Lord helps those who help themselves”.

From adversity comes opportunity to right the wrongs of the past when it comes to our tax structure.  As the newly elected Representative from District 9, I’m pushing a plan to move at least part of our tax structure into the 21^st Century.

For starters, Florida could avoid budget cuts currently being contemplated for the coming year if it is allowed to collect the taxes it is already owed. Florida Taxwatch and the Florida Retail Federation both say the state is losing between two and four billion dollars in the current budget cycle because the state is not allowed to collect the taxes it is already owed on internet purchases.   I have filed legislation to begin to make the collection easier.

Floridians must understand that this is not a new tax.  As the Tallahassee Democrat so aptly stated in its editorial, this is a tax that is already owed to the people of Florida. This is a story about being fair to Floridians who work in stores on the main streets of Florida’s towns and cities so they can keep their jobs and maintain their quality of life.

The real story here is about the people of Florida who pay the sales tax when making purchases and about the retailers who collect the tax. Both are being shortchanged by internet retailers who make their sales in Florida, but don’t contribute to our economy.  It simply isn’t fair that sales tax is collected on some internet purchases and not others.  For example, a Florida consumer purchasing a book from BarnesandNobels.com  will be charged sales tax, but the neighbor next door purchasing the very same book from Amazon will not. The difference is that Barnes and Nobles has stores in Florida. Amazon does not. Amazon was one of the few retailers who saw double-digit sales increases during the holidays.

The playing field also needs to be even for retailers who open their doors everyday in Florida. If we aren’t careful, our brick and mortar stores  who employ your neighbors and friends and who pay property taxes will become noting but showrooms for internet shoppers.  

This past week my bill to collect these taxes got a major boost. Republican State Senator Evelyn of Ormond Beach is sponsoring the legislation in the Senate. Together, we put together a diverse coalition of 18 organizations who support our effort. These groups include The Florida Chamber and Associated Industries on one hand, and The Children’s Campaign, AFSCME, and the AFL-CIO on the other hand. The fact these usually opposing organizations are together on collecting this tax is as significant as this freshman Democratic legislator working with a veteran Republican. We must work together to get out of this predicament.

 

I need your help. Changing Florida law will bring in some voluntary and badly needed cash, but Florida will be only be able to collect the bulk of the tax being avoided when Congress acts.  I am urging you to write to the Governor, asking him to push for the revenue; Florida’s two US Senators, and to the members of Congress.

 

The passage of the Stimulus package is proof that Congress can act quickly.  Allowing Florida to collect the tax it is already owed on remote sales will pump several billion dollars into the state treasury and allow us to mitigate damaging cuts to schools, services and jobs.

 

During the Special Session in January, I argued on the House floor that cutting budgets instead of finding ways to raise revenue would actually drive the state deeper into recession.  Economists have testified that for every billion dollars the state cuts, at least a billion and a half in economic activity is lost. Conversely, keeping people at work in our schools and on the state payroll will give consumers confidence to buy that new car, TV, or piece of furniture that will help lead us out of this recession.

 

Collecting the tax on remote sales is not the total answer to our woes, but it will even the playing field between brick and mortar stores in our state who provide jobs and pay taxes with those out of state retailers who are just taking our money and giving us nothing in return. It will also allow us to keep more teachers on the job and it will protect more state programs and jobs.    

 

Budget Cuts Will Deepen Recession

January 9, 2009   Watch House Floor Speech

In casting a no vote today on the budget, Representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, (D-Tallahassee) evoked the memory of the late Governor and U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles. “As this honored public servant would have said of this budget, ‘We’re eating our seed corn.’ This budget takes us in the wrong direction. It depletes our reserves and our ability to invest in our future. I believe that with adversity comes opportunity; we should be forging a strategy to grow an excellent future for ourselves and our children and not deepening an already difficult recession.”

“Many small businesses face bankruptcy; thousands more people will lose their jobs and will rely on unemployment and food stamps, driving the state deeper into recession. We have to do what families do when times are tough. Strong, resilient families are creative, they get second jobs, or go back to school to increase their chances of employment and promotion,” said Rehwinkel Vasilinda.  “Families sacrifice; they sacrifice to ensure a better future for their children and that future begins with education.”

In debate against the bill, Rehwinkel Vasilinda said she is concerned about the future fate of our state. “We are in a new era of innovation, but how do we innovate and solve our problems without a competent, well educated and skilled workforce?  Innovation requires our commitment to education, from pre-K, through university.”  This isn’t a new idea; chambers of commerce and businesses throughout the state and nation have for years understood that an investment in education is a means of improving our economy.  The US Chamber of Commerce states that “to keep America competitive and strong, the business community must be actively engaged on issues related to our nation’s educational system as a means to ensure an educated citizenry of self-sufficient, lifelong learners who have the skills needed to thrive in the global workplace, today and in the future.”

Our ability to rebound from this recession, regain our position of leadership based on innovation, and to compete in global economy depends on the investments we make today in educating and caring for our children from Pre-K through university, said Rehwinkel Vasilinda.  “This budget isn’t innovative, it’s more of the same that has failed our families and threatens our future. I voted no because I believe Floridian’s deserve an excellent future and this budget gives little hope for that.”

 

 

Read the Tallahassee Democrat Editorial on Michelle's "Holiday Gift Project"

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812230306

See the Governor's News Conference with Michelle on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evLs0EXZVS0

 

“Code Green is America’s New Red, White and Blue”

A couple of days ago, I was waiting in the Governor’s Office with three books by the same author, wrapped up in trademark red ribbon of the season. I was there to give these gifts to Governor Crist and his staff as a token of appreciation for their diligence and good faith in working with me on what I dubbed the “Holiday Gift Project”, what eventually turned out to be two paid days off for state employees. Kelly Layman, Chief of Staff of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection walked in to the waiting area. We talked briefly about the day’s events and  the subject turned to the books I was carrying.  Kelly said “It’s a great book. I’m about half way through it. I’m so surprised more people aren’t talking about it and that there haven’t been more reviews and editorials about it.” We continued to talk about Thomas Friedman’s latest brilliant,  yet common sense book, Hot, Flat and Crowded. As we talked, the idea of sharing my view of this book, recommending it for a holiday gift or a new year’s resolution read, wouldn’t leave me.

On September 12, 2001 I woke up with the strong conviction that our path to national security lay in becoming energy independent. Thomas Friedman has reached the same conclusion with an airtight case. He has had the opportunity to speak to the top echelons of government and industry the world over and has deeply researched this idea: America must fully create and implement Code Green.  “Code Green” is a plan for scientific and economic innovation that propels the nation forward to develop clean power, super energy efficient technologies, and methods of conservation.  Why must we do it? America must find a way to 1) Empower its economy; 2) Disempower the world’s petro-dictators; and 3) Save and protect our environment. 

National security is not only the federal government’s problem. Much like in WWII, not only our troops but all of us are vulnerable to those who seek to destroy us. All of us, then, have a part to play to make our nation safe. None of the nations that supply us with oil, save Canada, are our friends; many are our enemies. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela,  and Russia should not be trusted to provide us with our nation’s lifeblood. The oil we get from  them, however, fuels our daily travel to and from work, visits to friends and family, shopping trips, and recreation. We have for too long enriched, empowered, and emboldened these nations, to our great detriment, with the transfer of our wealth for their oil.

Working toward energy independence with stewardship of the environment offers tremendous economic opportunities. Friedman quotes Lois Quam, managing director of alternative investments at Piper Jaffray, as saying, “The economy is poised to be the mother of all markets…to find any equivalent economic transformation, you would have to go back to the Industrial Revolution.”

Most importantly, we must protect the air, water, and earth we need for our every breath and heart beat. Controversy over climate change aside: our planet can no longer sustain the enormity of the pollution, waste, and biodiversity loss as China, India, and peoples across the globe work to feed a voracious appetite for middle America’s standard of living.

It has always been America’s destiny to blaze a path that strengthens our nation while fulfilling our mission to encourage freedom for all humanity.  We have a moral responsibility to ourselves, our children, and  grandchildren to ensure their safety, security, and health. Working for global economic and political freedom will make our people more secure. America can still inspire the imagination of the world. The world needs our ingenuity, our innovation, and our boldness now to help take us into this new era. As Thomas Friedman says, “The goal of this Code Green strategy is not just to make America richer, tropical forests safer, petrodictators poorer, or hurricanes weaker. The goal is also to use America’s power to bring the world’s most disadvantaged populations the energy to improve their lives and realize more of their aspirations as well.”

What does this have to do with Florida? Florida has a very fragile environment. We depend on the quality of our natural resources, and our climate for much of our economy. Florida also has a huge stake in solving our present economic crisis. Florida fell into recessionary times sooner and is likely to crawl out of it later than the rest of the country. We must do things differently. Our region, with its dynamic mix of a progressive government, excellent universities and community colleges, highly educated and motivated citizenry, long standing, and effective environmental organizations, innovative chambers of commerce and economic development organizations, stands poised to lead Florida boldly into this new Energy Era.  Florida must be ahead of the pack to survive the current economic crisis, reach our full potential and thrive. Our community can lead the way.

 

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812260303