Friday, January 27, 2006

THANK YOU FOR THE TASTY CRUMBS!

Until Americans stop falling for this crap, Republicans are just going to keep doing it -- especially Republicans named Bush:

Gov. Jeb Bush is expected next week to propose the biggest tax-cut package in state history, including a property-tax reduction that would save most homeowners less than $100 a year but mean millions of dollars to large landowners....

The cuts are meant to cap Bush's final year as the state's chief executive and boost his Republican Party's standing in a pivotal election year.

Central to Bush's plan is about $500 million in a property-tax reduction that could save the owner of a home assessed at $300,000 about $80 a year.

The cut, however, could save Orange County's biggest landowner, Walt Disney World, about $1.6 million annually; Universal Orlando more than $400,000; and the Marriott hotel chain about $200,000 in the Orlando area alone....


I love the assertion that this is supposed to help the party in an election year. Obviously, the gratitude of wealthy beneficiaries will help fill the party's coffers. But will this also be a popular move with ordinary voters? Yeah, probably. We're Americans, and Jeb is uttering the phrase that reliably zombifies us every time -- "TAX CUT!!!"

Oh, by the way:

The state's outstanding debt is $22.5 billion, more than double what it was 10 years ago. Class-size requirements and meeting the goals of growth-management legislation approved last spring also demand billions of dollars in state revenue, critics said.

But pay no attention to that. The tax cut is affordable because

Florida's property-tax roll has mushroomed to $1.6 trillion this year, a stunning 19 percent increase from 2005.

Which, we're told, means that Florida can afford to enact a tax cut that will stay on the books forever (unless a future governor and legislature decide to commit political suicide by altering it). But that shouldn't be a problem, right? After all, housing booms last forever, don't they?

(Via DU.)

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