Nov
5
From AP, via Tom Jackson on TBO:
TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist is saying he did not endorse the $787 billion federal stimulus bill, a statement that might confuse some voters. [Confuse is putting it mildly; irritate, astonish, infuriate, flabbergast, now those are more appropriate terms—Ed.]
Crist appeared with President Barack Obama in February to support the bill, asked Florida members of Congress to vote for it and previously told The Associated Press that he would have voted for it if he had been in the Senate.
But when the Republican governor talked about the bill Wednesday on CNN, he said he didn’t endorse it. Crist told CNN he understood that the bill was going to pass and wanted to use it for the benefit of Florida.
Crist has tried to distance himself from Obama and the stimulus bill since entering the 2010 Senate race in the spring.
Crist is a complete joke. He hugs the Spender in Chief at rallies and works to hamstring Florida’s economy in the name of the “environment” when it’s politically convenient. Then he runs deceptive radio ads to make him look like Mr. Conservative:
Florida’s airwaves are alive with the sound of Governor Charlie Crist’s radio advertisement trumpeting his grade of “A” on Cato’s “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors.”
I am pleased that Gov. Crist values Cato’s ratings because we work hard to make them accurate and nonpartisan. But the radio ad is making many fiscally conservative Floridians scratch their heads because of the governor’s recent policy actions.
The governor earned his Cato grade in last year’s report mainly because of his large property tax cuts and moderate spending approach. The grade was based purely on quantitative data on revenues, general fund spending, and tax rate changes.
However, since I wrote the report in mid-2008, the governor seems to have fallen off the fiscal responsibility horse.
In particular, Crist approved a huge $2.2 billion tax increase for the fiscal 2010 budget, even though he had promised that $12 billion in federal “stimulus” money showered on Florida over three years would obviate the need for tax increases.
Crist is a spender, a central planner, and a nanny-statist. Marco Rubio better pull this thing out.
Mar
20
Thoughts on Ownership
Filed Under Environment | Leave a Comment
Down here in Florida, we are currently saddled with one of the more severe droughts in recent memory. The city of Tampa banned watering lawns with sprinklers starting in April, and the Republican governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, is considering activating a tax on water bottling companies to pump water for drinking. This could have a significant effect on Nestle-owned Zephyrhills Water, pumped near the city of Zephrhills, Florida (not far from my home).
What is a state to do when faced with a severe shortage of such a necessary item like water? Companies cannot be allowed to simply pump out as much as their machines can handle, and sell it for a profit all over the world. But is putting government in charge the best alternative? Of course not.
The case of drinking water shows the absolute necessity of private property rights. That which is owned by everyone is valued by no one. Especially in terms of aquifer (underground) water, the rights to such a commodity must be part of the property as much as the timber on the land or the building raised upon it. When water is owned by private individuals, they will charge a price for it to be sold, extracted, and used. In droughts, when the supply is short, prices will trigger conservation better than public awareness campaigns, and will be fairer than water taxes and utility hikes that will usually favor political allies of those in power. When water is owned by by all, there is no incentive to conserve. When prices rise, the incentive is easily utilized, without the expense and control of government.
