The Gold Watch
by
Matt Giwer (c) 1994 <9/30>

      Florida has, or rather had, an "impact fee" of $295 for cars brought into the state from another state. The State Supreme Court found this fee to be unconstitutional and the money refunded. And immediately the state claimed it would harm education if the money had to be refunded.
      Ah, the Gold Watch approach. It is not an obvious Gold Watch so let me go a step further. When the state was promoting the lottery the deal was that the revenues would go to schools. As soon as there was a lottery and the revenues started coming in the state took the school budget, subtracted lottery revenues and appropriated the difference.
      Rather than the implication that the lottery would be over and above the minimum budget the schools got no more and other projects were funded. These are unrelated to education. Were the people had by the politicians? Is the bear Catholic?
      Fine but now that the threat of having to refund the fees, $295 million or so, the state is saying what? You have three seconds to guess. Time is up. The schools will be harmed. If you did not guess that you need to go back to square one in your knowledge of politics.
      The state Supreme Court decision was news on the 28th as was the state claim that it would harm the schools. On the 29th in the morning there were the first statements from the schools as to the harm. By the evening news on the 29th there were human interest stories as to a teacher having $150 to to spend "perhaps to help this immigrant child learn English." Are there any tears not jerking out there?
      Look at the genesis of school funding as outlined above. Sounds to me that if the state has to refund the unconstitutional impact fees that it is the other programs that will suffer and not the schools. That is of course if the politicians are telling the truth.
      But then the media will seek out the truth? Just how much did you pay for that bridge?
      Yes, I am in Florida but this does not apply only to Florida. Dozens of states pushed the lottery on the basis of an aid to education and they all pulled the same trick of defunding the schools from general revenues by the amount of lottery revenues. This is the first case of a reversal of the gambit and I point out the fraud the politicians and the lap dog media will perpetrate upon the state.
      I have written this up on the Federal level more than once and I have included the media in the accusation at that level. I post here the natural tendency of the media to support the government at the state level also. When the government lies to us the "watchdog" media will swear to it.
      This is just one more example of the scam used to raise taxes despite the plain will of the people. The willingness of the voters to believe in something for nothing is possible to have something for nothing is not to be forgotten but neither is a politician promising something for nothing.
      In any event here is one more example of the short term nature of any political promise and the use of that promise against the people. This may be a trivial example but an illustrative example. Look for it coming to a state near you soon.