When writing next state budget, put the neediest first

With all the red meat, culture war rhetoric sure to accompany today’s opening ceremonies of the Florida Legislature, it’s easy to forget that lawmakers really only have two jobs over the next 60 days. They must redraw congressional and legislative districts to reflect population changes over the past decade, and they must write the annual state budget.

Money won’t be a problem this year, because of the infusion of billions in federal stimulus money. For that, Florida owes a debt of gratitude to President Joe Biden. There’s also bright economic news on the home front. State economists predict that revenue in the coming budget year will be nearly $400 million higher than they had previously forecast.

The timing couldn’t be better, because, as always, Florida has pressing problems that demand action and cost lots of money, such as the arduous and expensive work of repairing decades of damage to sensitive water bodies such as the Indian River Lagoon.

Regarding workers, Gov. Ron DeSantis is right to propose 16% pay raises for chronically underpaid correctional officers, as well as bonuses for police officers and teachers. But workers idled by the pandemic also deserve long-overdue increases in Florida’s stingy unemployment compensation benefits, something many legislators promised they would do when they ran for office last year.

At the same time, lawmakers must remind themselves that this silver lining could be masking big clouds on the state’s economic horizon. As everyone knows, inflation is a major effect of the sudden flush of cash into state coffers, and while consumer spending is on the rise, many families are burdened by higher costs for the same old necessities such as food, clothing, medicine and, most important, rent.

That’s supported by the fact that Floridians’ personal savings rate declined in October and November. Nearly half of state households already fall short of the incomes they need to cover basic necessities, and a lower saving rate suggests that Floridians higher up the earnings ladder, such as teachers, police officers and nurses, also face tough economic survival decisions.

Another alarming statistic: The economic forecast showed a dramatic and nearly 20% crash in personal income in the first two quarters of 2021 as federal unemployment aid dried up. Income recovered, but it barely got over the baseline in the six months that ended Dec. 31.

Put it all together, and it’s clear many Florida residents are wobbling on an economic precipice.

How can Tallahassee help them? It should start by reversing a mistake of last session and restoring the revenue stream that once flowed into a state trust fund for long-term investments in desperately needed affordable housing for hard-working Floridians.

Lawmakers could also take the long-overdue step of expanding Medicaid coverage for the low-paid workers who are the backbone of the state’s tourism industry — the people who wait tables, cook meals and make beds.

In writing a budget, what they should not do is steal revenue from local governments and bestow it indiscriminately on people who don’t need it. Bills already filed for this session would continue to raid property-tax revenues that pay for city and county expenses such as police and fire protection and public schools — and many proposed property tax breaks would benefit the wealthiest Floridians the most, simply because their homes are worth considerably more.

Even the popular sales-tax holidays, which, to be fair, affect state income, too, will especially benefit families that can afford to maximize their savings by buying several hundred dollars’ worth of back-toschool clothes in one week.

Then there are the proposed tax breaks that are downright indefensible — such as a blanket sales tax break on the purchase of aircraft.

Sure, an economic development argument can be made. But Florida’s aviation industry is already going gangbusters. It doesn’t need a $32 million a year giveaway.

Not when the state is starving public schools and a housing trust fund and desperate families still suffer on long waiting lists for critical services like disability assistance and mental-health treatment. If Florida wants to boost aerospace, that money would be far better spent on training for people who aspire toward jobs as aircraft mechanics — or who just need health insurance so they can stay healthy enough to work at any job.

The temptation to lard the next budget with hundreds of hometown projects is obvious. But that, too, is the wrong approach.

Florida is flush with money — our money — and lawmakers are also gearing up for re-election campaigns in redrawn districts. But there are far greater needs, and if they look closely at economic forecasts, they are nearly impossible to miss.

Do the right thing, lawmakers. Put those who need the most at the front of the line for once. You can afford it, and it’s the right thing to do.