Motor vehicle fees are going up on Tuesday and many people feel it's inappropriate timing, given the current economic climate.
Every House Democrat, except one, voted against the fee increases and House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands even went so far as to say that Republican support for the increases showed a disregard for the middle class and working families. What these Democrats fail to see, apparently, is that the increase in fees will raise more than $800 million for the next fiscal year and close to $1 billion the next year. This revenue will go directly into everyday things funded by the general revenue budget.
Apparently those complaining about the fee increases are also opposed to schools, prisons and health care. Anarchy is a fun thing to talk about after a few pints of Guinness, but it's not fun in practice if you actually want the government to provide services for you. People are cheap, and people tend to act in their own rational self-interest. However, people are also short-sighted when it comes to realizing that paying an extra $30 every couple of years in vehicle fees will maintain society as they know it, they have it pretty good. If only these people could be wrangled up and forced onto a reality TV show that placed them in a mock-feudal society, maybe they'd get the picture.
Motor vehicle fees have not gone up for 20 years in Florida. And no, we are not adjusting for inflation. Dropping a 50-percent-increase bomb on Florida drivers may reflect poor planning on the part of the Florida legislature, but keeping the fees so low at a time when Florida's budget is in crisis mode would just be more bad planning. The same goes for the sin tax on cigarettes. It may be a bummer, but knowing that civilization will still exist after you finish your Camel is better than having a extra couple of bucks in your pocket every time you buy a pack. If Florida cut any more spending on education, the biggest part of their budget, they would lose federal funding. Point blank: Something had to be done to raise revenue.
There is no doubt that this is basically a tax increase. But, instead of coming up with a better solution, all the Democrats came up with were other tax increases. Some of the proposed taxes had a definite progressive slant and were aimed at wealthier Floridians and businesses. Others, however, such as a proposed increase of the sales tax, seemed like they would hurt truly struggling families more than an increase in vehicle fees. The people who stand to lose the most from tax increases are probably those who can't afford to drive a car.
Everyone would be affected by an increase in the sales tax, regardless of whether or not they can afford to own and maintain a motor vehicle. The Democrats who almost uniformly voted against this increase are just being silly. And if this is the best example they can find of Republicans "not caring about the middle class," they are blind, too. Florida's House Democrats need to stop complaining that the increase signifies an attack against the middle class because that simply isn't the case. And "working class" Floridians need to stop agreeing with them, simply because they want to save a paltry amount of cash.
