Florida Exodus: Rising Taxes Drive Out Residents

There are many things public officials probably shouldn't do during a severe recession, but no one seems to have told the leaders in Florida about them. One thing, for instance, would be giving a dozen top aides hefty raises while urging a rise in property taxes, as the mayor of Miami-Dade County recently did. Or jacking up already exorbitant hurricane-insurance premiums, as Florida's government-run property insurer just did. Or sending an army of highly paid lobbyists to push for a steep hike in electricity rates, as South Florida's public utility is doing.

And you wonder why the Sunshine State is experiencing its first net emigration of people since World War II...

Residents were further outraged last week when the Miami Herald reported that Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez, one of the few Miami politicians with a reputation for probity, had raised the salaries of his chief of staff and other top lieutenants this year as high as 15% while calling for a 5% pay cut for county workers...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090903/us_time/08599191991600


Florida for the rich!

Sheesh. :eyes:

To watch the wealthy squeeze out those who would serve them. All the cooks, maids, nannies, etc. won't be able to afford to live there... so who will care for our precious wealthy?

:rofl:

Get off their fat asses, learn to cook, clean, and go get jobs.

After coasting down Easy Street on the backs of the working men and women for the past few decades, they can finally see what it's like to actually have to work. :)

That's just too bad.
:nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

Illegals kept in the compound, never allowed to leave?

They want to bring back slavery... oh wait, they already have!

States that do not have an income tax, just raise the other taxes, fees, levies, service charges, etc. There is rarely self-control at the top, so they keep siphoning off "what they need" for themselves, and the shortages just keep piling up..

Nevada just raised their sales tax to 12%.

Ours is 9.95%...AND we have income tax as well.

There truly is no free lunch, and states will find ways to raise money, even if they don't call it an income tax.

The punitive taxes hit the hardest on the poorest of people because an income tax would not hurt them percentage wise, as hard as the nickel & dime-ing they get every time they turn around.

Car licensing fees, insurance premium hikes, boosted school fees for their kids, etc.

If the wealthiest in states (and nationally) paid more we'd all be better off, but they are truly our sacred cows:(

Its out of control.

I just paid the license fee (Ca.) last week...... $157.

For a NINE YEAR OLD CAR!

Freakin ridiculous.

:grr:

our car tags(taxes) are still amongst the lowest in the nation.

It's not taxes folks - it's jobs.

I also own an old 1987 Bronco II, now parked, last time I paid the registration in 2007 it was $54.

to support services somehow. Taxes are the price we pay for living in a civil society. Would you prefer the alternative?

The middle class (property owners) and the poor are already over taxed.

That well is dry.

Floridians are leaving Florida because our economy has been based on tourism and construction and both are in tank because of a crappy national economy - it has NOTHING to do with taxes, in fact Florida has some of the lowest tax rates in the entire country - it has NO income tax or ad valorem tax on vehicles like Georgia and has homestead exemptions for real property as well.

When the national economy tanks, people stop taking vacations and buying vacation homes - this drives down demand for workers in these areas and in turn there are less jobs which means less demand for housing for the locals which further drives down the jobs - it's a death spiral.

What we need in Florida are jobs in high technology, manufacturing and alternative energy - I'm not holding my breath though with our useless Republican controlled legislature.


Doug D.
Orlando, FL

and thankful every day.

republicans sold florida off to corporate greed. it used to be a nice place to live.

on the "kindness of strangers"...aka tourists.

Those tourist facilities got sweetheart deals to come there int he first place because of the allure of all those tourist dollars that would come pouring in..no need for taxes & the like, and it did have a nice long run..but the bubble burst, and if there is nothing "real" left behind, it's a bitter pill to swallow. This is the flipside ..the dark side of the service economy model. Once people cannot afford the "service", they just stop using that service, and the people who need those jobs to feed their families?..they're just cast off.. The corporations who fed off the system and worked every angle? they'll be fine:(

They're supposed to go to the upkeep and maintenance of the toll road, but the powers-that-be thought it would be better to use the money to build even more highways.

Those toll roads can just repair themselves.