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Whatever you do, don't tax me© St. Petersburg Times published March 3, 2003 Russell Long, the Louisiana senator, is remembered for the aphorism, "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax the fellow behind that tree." Florida has a corollary to that: "Don't cut you, don't cut me, cut the fellow behind that tree." Trouble is, Florida is running out of trees. This was evident the other day as Floridians for Better Transportation called a press conference in Tallahassee to protest Gov. Jeb Bush's budgetary proposal to raid the transportation trust fund for $200-million to spend on other things. Participants, including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the League of Cities and the usual cast of construction trade groups, made a plausible case. But they ducked for cover on the next question: Would they appeal to the governor and the House to consider new taxes, as the Senate intends to do? No, they said, that's not their job. Let the Legislature just cut somewhere else. If that's the best they can do, they are contributing to the problem, not the solution.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
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From the Times Opinion page |
