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Well keep in mind bro, you dont speak for all of us.
Remember that.

Your vision for Florida is disturbing.

TALLAHASSEE  The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature faces tough choices in balancing the $93 billion state budget decimated by the coronavirus crisis, decisions that could wipe out or drastically reduce teacher raises, road work, affordable housing projects and more.


Lawmakers last month passed the spending plan based on revenue projections made in January, well before the coronavirus brought much of the economy to a halt. When state economists make new projections, likely no sooner than sometime in May, the Legislature will know how big of a hole they have to fill.


If it is large enough, it could wipe out or significantly reduce $500 million in teacher pay raises, nearly $400 million in state worker pay raises, the boost in Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes and other pieces of a budget that won so much bipartisan support the spending plan passed unanimously.


Then the options left to lawmakers are decisions that Republican leaders don't typically want to make: accept federal bailout money to fill a large budget hole; borrow money in much larger amounts than in recent years; make drastic cuts to a range of programs; or raise taxes and fees  long considered unacceptable by Republican leaders.


Gov. Ron DeSantis and Senate President Bill Galvano, however, have pointed to Florida's $4 billion in reserves, the strong economy before the pandemic and the expected federal funding from the CARES Act as reasons to be hopeful the hit to state coffers won't be catastrophic.


DeSantis has even suggested the Legislature might not even have to come back the Capitol to rewrite the budget. He could sign the budget while vetoing enough projects to give a cushion that, combined with CARES Act funds, could cover any sharp drop in revenues.


"We've got to see what the economic prognosis looks like," Desantis said last week. "The numbers I've received are not anything that would cause us to have to redo the current fiscal year budget."


"And even next year, given the amount of money we've received, a lot of people feel that could be doable," he added.


But for now, the Legislature hasn't formally sent the budget to his desk, passed during the regular session that ended in March, and DeSantis has said he's solely focused on the pandemic response.


The early indications, though, suggest the downturn could be too steep, and lawmakers will need to redraft a spending plan based on more realistic revenue projections.


More than 26 million people filed for unemployment since mid-March, wiping out 10 years' worth of job gains. Retail sales for March fell 8.7 percent compared with February, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. Industrial production fell 5.4 percent, the largest monthly drop since 1946. The Fitch Ratings agency predicted a "deep global recession" for this year on April 2.


For a state as reliant as Florida is on tourism, it points to a prolonged recovery. Florida gets 20 percent of its sales tax revenues from tourists, and 79 percent of its $33 billion general revenue fund.


The shock could ripple out beyond the hospitality sector, though, affecting parts of the budget not directly tied to sales taxes. Lawmakers opted not to raid the affordable housing trust fund this year, leaving $370 million in it, but if prospective homebuyers put off making that large purchase, it could put a dent in the real estate transaction taxes that flow into that trust fund.


Gasoline prices have plummeted as residents have been encouraged to stay home except for essential trips. That equals fewer gas taxes to pay for road work.


Galvano sent a memo to senators April 16 laying out how the CARES Act would benefit Florida, while acknowledging the abysmal economic news. Hospitals around the country will receive $30 billion; K-12 school districts will receive $770 million in grants; universities will be eligible for $792 million in grants.


"We're trying to find 127 million tourists to have the confidence to come back and patronize our state," Patronis said during a task force meeting aimed at reopening the state. "This is a one-of-a-kind enemy we've never seen before."


He's pointed to dire economic forecasts, such as a "stress test" from Moody's Analytics projecting Florida could face a $6.4 billion shortfall, combined with a $1.74 billion increase in Medicaid expenses, meaning lawmakers would be looking for $8.14 billion, or nearly 24 percent of its general revenue.


Tax increases, however, would be tricky to pass. House Speaker Jose Oliva has staunchly opposed them and DeSantis made it a campaign pledge to veto any tax increase.


Patronis has been urging state economists to convene to issue new revenue forecasts to account for the coronavirus. But Amy Baker, the state's chief economist, says they won't be able to make projections about revenues or the economy with any amount of confidence until mid-May at the earliest.


New numbers on March revenues, April unemployment figures and updated global and national economic forecasts from rating agencies won't be released until then, giving leaders little time to react to the budget hole for the fiscal budget year that begins July 1.


There will also be more decisions made in that time about when and how to reopen, which could give economists more clues as to how quickly the state will rebound.


For his part, DeSantis said he'll likely have to wield a hefty veto pen, even on programs he believes in, to have a big enough cushion to account for the economic downturn. Some projects could get funding the following year, he suggested.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis: "We're trying to find 127 million tourists to have the confidence to come back and patronize our state.''

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@WildBoar, DeSantis for his entire term in office has been riding Trump's coattails and is pretty damn weak for the most part. He's been all talk and no walk. And what's worse is his lack of leadership during this crisis will hurt Florida even more. He figured being Governor would be easy under a Trump Administration. Well, it's proven wrong. Worse, he hasn't spent the political capital he amassed on what he campaigned.

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It’s tempting to blame politicians, bureaucrats, “doomers” and democrats, but we need to be honest in assessing the future: Tourism will be down big time, regardless. For a long time. People aren't in a vacationing mood.

These D.C. government robots with paychecks coming off the money press are so out of touch with how many Americans have nothing coming in right now.

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DC didn’t shut down Florida.  Florida Governor shut down Florida.

We just had a local daycare announce they are broke, closing for good, and selling off their furnishings and equipment.  If DeSantis doesn’t end this bullshit shutdown then May will bring 1000s more

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Because Harvard and Ruths Chris Steakhouse said "fuck yo small bidness, gibs ME dat gummint cheese!"

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DC didn’t shut down Florida.  Florida Governor shut down Florida.

We just had a local daycare announce they are broke, closing for good, and selling off their furnishings and equipment.  If DeSantis doesn’t end this bullshit shutdown then May will bring 1000s more

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Both gave the money back.

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I'm curious which states people think have done well? Washington shut their state down. That certainly helped their numbers. Economic consequences are going to be heavy. Texas has faired well, but it didn't hit there early and their population density isn't crazy high. Based on expectations and actual numbers, Florida has fares pretty well, comparatively. Ohio? Which states have done such great jobs?

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It’s tempting to blame politicians, bureaucrats, “doomers” and democrats, but we need to be honest in assessing the future: Tourism will be down big time, regardless. For a long time. People aren't in a vacationing mood.

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Paying employees? Chump shit. How about a million+ bux in inventory that has been thrown out the past few weeks for expiring in her warehouses.

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Good to hear.

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DC didn't shut down Florida.  Florida Governor shut down Florida.

We just had a local daycare announce they are broke, closing for good, and selling off their furnishings and equipment.  If DeSantis doesn't end this bullshit shutdown then May will bring 1000s more

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Paying employees? Chump shit. How about a million+ bux in inventory that has been thrown out the past few weeks for expiring in her warehouses.

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Why havent they been selling that instead of throwing it out? Are normal kitchens not good enough to cook it?

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@WildBoar, DeSantis for his entire term in office has been riding Trump's coattails and is pretty damn weak for the most part. He's been all talk and no walk. And what's worse is his lack of leadership during this crisis will hurt Florida even more. He figured being Governor would be easy under a Trump Administration. Well, it's proven wrong. Worse, he hasn't spent the political capital he amassed on what he campaigned.

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Paying employees? Chump shit. How about a million+ bux in inventory that has been thrown out the past few weeks for expiring in her warehouses.