WASHINGTON -- When liberals advocate a value-added tax, conservatives should respond: Taxing consumption has merits, so we will consider it -- after the 16th Amendment is repealed.
A VAT will be rationalized as necessary to restore fiscal equilibrium. But without ending the income tax, a VAT would be just a gargantuan instrument for further subjugating Americans to government.
Despite repeated assurances that he would sign it, that the bill represented a powerful improvement in Florida's education standards, Gov. Charlie Crist announced Thursday that he had vetoed SB 6.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Whenever I'm in the nation's capital, it's always entertaining to see government staff, aides, lobbyists and elected officials doing their thing. They can make you feel like an outsider -- unless, that is, you were there when Ronald Reagan was sworn in, doing then as they are doing now. Then you realize that they're just younger versions of yourself.
The Senate approved a long-awaited gaming compact Thursday that gives the Seminole Tribe of Florida exclusive rights to blackjack and Vegas-style card games and nets at least $1 billion for the state.
Senators voted 29-9 in favor of the compact, moving it quickly past the floor with much praise and few complaints. The compact still needs to pass the House and be signed by the governor to be passed into law.
I was just a quarterback, but it was a privilege to see this come in for a landing, said chief Senate negotiator Dennis Jones, R-Seminole.
Gov. Charlie Crist had harsh words for the Republican-controlled Legislature in the media event a few moments ago where he announced his veto of teacher performance pay.
Crist said he vetoed the bill due to its impact on special education, its encroachment on local control and the way legislators sped the measure through committee without including the input of teachers, students and parents.
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With Floridians due to vote on two redistricting amendments in November, a House panel met Thursday to tackle the issue at both the congressional and state levels by pushing another amendment.
The amendments already on the ballot, sponsored by Fair Districts Florida, would change how the Legislature will draw up congressional and legislative seats. They prohibit the Legislature from creating districts to benefit or hinder an incumbent or a political party and require the districts to be compact.
Reaction is pouring in from both sides after Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed the teacher performance pay measure.
Sen. John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, the chief sponosor of the legislation, said, "It goes without saying that I am disappointed this legislation has been vetoed by Gov. Crist, and I continue to think that one day it will be fully implemented in our state.
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Gov. Charlie Crist announced in a press conference that he vetoed a controversial bill authorizing teacher performance pay, a decision that could imperil his standing with the Republican Party.
The bill, proposed in the Senate by Republican Party of Florida Chairman John Thrasher, R-Jacksonville, has drawn massive oppposition from teachers' unions and drawn national attention.
Lawmakers and everyone else have been waiting on tenterhooks since the bill arrived on the governor's desk last week.
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The Senate approved a long-awaited gaming compact Thursday that expands gaming rights at Seminole casinos and nets at least $1 billion for the state.
Senators voted 29-9 in favor of the compact, moving it quickly past the floor. The compact still needs to pass the House and be signed by the governor to be passed into law.
Comments are now closed.
