Homestead Exemption Woes

More of a local issue this time, dealing with a tax break amendment passed in Florida last month.

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Another Terrible Florida Amendment

 

            Probably the hardest arguments to make in politics are ones against tax cuts, those magical and revered initiatives that politicians break out when they need a distraction or a boost in the polls. Time and time again, Republicans have used tax cuts as part of a kind of “bread and circuses” approach to governance, wherein shoddy long-term policy initiatives are hidden by short-term material benefits. Most folks, who tend to see these breaks as a slightly larger paycheck or a refund check without any consideration to their true costs, go along with such smoke-and-mirror tactics for a while, but the shit always hits the fan eventually. The recent “Homestead Exemption Increase” Amendment that the voters of Florida have just passed will prove to be no different.

 

            Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against the principle behind tax cuts; money is better off in the economy and in the hands of working people than sitting in some massive surplus lock-box. However, Republicans tend to cut taxes even when the government can’t afford to lose the revenue without slashing vital programs, and their cuts are often disproportionately for the benefit of our wealthiest and most comfortable citizens.

 

            The recently passed “Homestead Exemption” Amendment contains all of these flaws. Skipping all of the mind-numbing specifics, this initiative basically lowered property taxes for homeowners; proponents of the bill have claimed that it will save the “average homeowner” about $240 per year. Republicans claim that the Amendment is designed to help small business owners and middle-class homeowners, but in reality, the big winners on January 29 were the wealthy owners of Florida’s many McMansions, who stand to save far more than the insignificant $240 promised for “average homeowners.”

 

            And of course, the real losers are anyone who relies on the government programs which are already being butchered to pay for this cut (ie: middle-class and non-homeowners). As always, the state will be offsetting the reduced revenues from the homestead exemption increase by further castrating our already woefully inadequate educational system. Already confirmed on the chopping block is the Florida Resident Access Grant (FRAG), which most Stetson students (including myself) rely upon to afford this place; the government assures us that we’ll all be grandfathered and keep ours, but that doesn’t help the thousands of qualified students who won’t be able to gather tuition money in the future.

 

            Given the historical ease with which Floridians have been able to put short-sighted Amendments on the ballot and get them passed, I wasn’t surprised when this homestead exemption increase was ratified against the interest of most of the state’s population. I can only hope that in the future, people find the facts about a tax cut before supporting it and found out who really stands to gain.