Rusty Birchall

Like all the jolly good fellows, I drink my whiskey clear

[Rusty Birchall @rustybirchall]

@rocknrollofall He’s good. I like Prince.

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

Every medication comes with disclosures.

If this property tax amendment is the cure, what are the side effects?

Before we rewrite Florida’s Constitution, voters deserve the full warning label.

I lay them out here. 👇 https://t.co/lAuTRZWoUC

[Rusty Birchall @rustybirchall]

@RealFrankFromFL Rainbow River

[Rusty Birchall @rustybirchall]

@PaulFox13 @TBBaseballMkt No tax dollars to fund another stadium. No. Just no.

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

It’s fascinating.

The same local officials who couldn’t solve spending problems at home are then elected to go to Tallahassee and suddenly become the solution.

How many members of the legislature have a history in local government? A ton

Apparently getting elected to the legislature is a fiscal baptism.

[Florida Grand @florida_grand]

The difference between a city in Florida celebrating a victory in a major sports championship and a city in New York or California is glaring. Notice how there isn’t a massive amount of violence, riots, burning cars; it’s just fun and respectful celebration.

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

It’s been a week.

A week since the Legislature passed a constitutional amendment that could shift billions of dollars and reshape local government across Florida.

And we’re still crowdsourcing the impacts on social media.

Think about that.

The state has every tax roll.

The state has every budget.

The state has the economists

The state can model the impact on every county, every city, and every taxing authority in Florida.

Yet voters are being asked to debate the amendment using statewide talking points while the local impacts remain a mystery.

That’s not transparency.

That’s marketing.

If the amendment is as good as advertised, publish the county-by-county and city-by-city impacts.

Until then, one question remains:

What do the numbers say that the talking points don’t?

Because if the numbers helped their case, we’d already be looking at them.

[Rusty Birchall @rustybirchall]

@mysuncoast Cmon man. That’s an alligator.

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

“If you think the world is selfish and rotten, go to the cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer overlooking Omaha Beach. See what one group of men did for another on D-Day, June 6th, 1944.” — Andy Rooney

[Rusty Birchall @rustybirchall]

@thecure Thank you so much for providing the opportunity to see this show live via internet. @thecure is absolutely the most fan friendly band and you guys absolutely rocked Portugal!

[Rusty Birchall @rustybirchall]

@TKayAnalyst Garbage post. Not verifiable.

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

The real test comes after the votes of this amendment are counted.

And no, this isn’t hyperbole.

If a county loses a major portion of its revenue but still has to fund deputies, firefighters, jails, roads, and emergency services, there are only four options:

-Cut services.
-Raise other taxes and fees.
-Ask Tallahassee for money.
-Consolidate services with neighboring governments.

That’s not ideology. That’s math.

To be clear, some of this may be a good thing. There are small cities that probably shouldn’t operate their own police departments. Some communities may be better served contracting with the sheriff. Counties can share jails, dispatch centers, IT systems, and other back-office functions. In some places, consolidation is overdue.

Will some local services degrade? Yes. There’s probably no way around that. Less revenue means fewer services, delayed projects, or both.

But let’s be honest about where the pressure will fall.

Not on the large, growing counties. On the small counties and quaint cities that give Florida much of its character. The places with limited commercial tax bases, high percentages of homesteaded property, and the least room for error when revenue declines.

Some will shift costs into non-ad valorem assessments that don’t receive homestead protections. Some will become permanent dependents of the state. Others will consolidate because the economics leave them little choice.

And don’t assume the story ends with this amendment.

Local governments will adapt. They’ll shift revenue where they can. Then Tallahassee will step in to limit those changes. Local governments will adapt again. Tallahassee will respond again.

That’s not reform. That’s a decade of fiscal whack-a-mole.

Eventually a bigger question emerges: If Tallahassee is paying the bills, why shouldn’t Tallahassee make the decisions?

That’s how home rule dies. Not with a scandal. Not with a vote. But with a budget shortfall.

Once local government loses its fiscal independence, getting it back is almost impossible.

[Rusty Birchall @rustybirchall]

@durbanek3 @JeffreyBrandes @ReOpenChris What office do you think he’s running for. Buffoon!

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

The blast radius nobody is talking about.

Once the dust settles, Floridians may discover they did not merely change a tax system. They changed the balance of power between local communities and the state itself. And unlike a tax bill, that is a change that will be far harder to reverse.

https://t.co/zjmjLba6w8

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” - The Usual Suspects

The greatest trick DeSantis ever pulled was convincing Floridians that local government is the problem and state government is the solution.

If your mayor, sheriff, and county commission have to fly to Tallahassee every year to ask permission to fund basic services, the state didn’t shrink government.

It just moved it farther away and gave you less control.

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

The debate isn’t whether local governments will need revenue.

The debate is whether your 2030 tax bill looks like:

Property Tax: $4,000

or

Fire Rescue Assessment: $385
Solid Waste Assessment: $425
Stormwater Assessment: $210
Public Safety Assessment: $575
Transportation Assessment: $290
Street Lighting Assessment: $95
Parks Assessment: $120

Total Due: $2,100

Plus whatever ad valorem taxes still apply to property that isn’t exempt.

Non-ad valorem assessments already exist throughout Florida. If local governments lose a significant share of their homestead tax base, don’t be surprised if you see more of them.

Government still needs revenue. The real question is whether we’re cutting taxes, shifting taxes, or simply changing the labels on the bill.

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

Buying a car without knowing the price is reckless.

Voting on a constitutional amendment without knowing the cost is worse.

Florida is being asked to fundamentally redesign local government finance before anyone can tell us the full fiscal impact.

That’s not reform.

That’s a leap of faith.

My latest: https://t.co/rdrRtwSU1f

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

The Governor is about to become the unelected mayor of Volusia, Flagler, Hernando, and Sumter County. When Tallahassee controls your paycheck, Tallahassee controls your priorities.

[Jeff Brandes @JeffreyBrandes]

The problem isn’t property taxes. The problem is that Florida’s politicians have spent decades patching the system instead of reforming it.

If you’re asking what I’d do, I’d start with two ideas rooted in free-market principles:

Tax land value, not improvements. Milton Friedman called the land value tax the “least bad tax” because it encourages development and investment instead of punishing it.

Index Florida’s homestead exemption to inflation. If lawmakers have to vote every few years to “give back” what inflation took away, the system is broken.

Both provide real tax relief without blowing a multi-billion-dollar hole in local budgets, shifting the burden onto renters and businesses, or creating a permanent state bailout fund for local governments.

The goal should be a system that’s fairer, simpler, and sustainable 20 years from now, not just a headline that sounds good today.

[BellaliberTea @bellaliberteaa]

Miami-Dade has 34 incorporated municipalities.

“Billionaires in Miami” mean nothing to cities like Palmetto Bay, Virginia Gardens, Miami Springs and Key Biscayne to name a few. These cities rely on property tax because they have little business presence in their cities.

He really wants to burn it all down in his way out and he’s going to spend millions of our tax dollars propagandizing that destruction.