scratrat Posted June 15, 2007 Posted June 15, 2007 I don't know about the rest of you, but I now fear for my job security. With the pending tax cuts, I fear there will be layoffs. Massively, statewide! No matter what Crist says, I think we're about to get screwed. There is no way they can cut that much tax revenue without massive cutbacks. Sheriffs office is probably the highest budget in most counties, and I'd venture to say fire and EMS is next or close to it. I live in Tallahassee and my taxes are $300 a year on a value of 103,000. This will probably go up slightly because we just it, and it wasn't taxed correctly. Still, it will probably go to only about $1k a year. I came from New Jersey. On a tax assessment value of $65k, I paid over $3k in taxes and it rose to $4500 when we sold. Floridians don't seem to realize how cheap our taxes are down here. No offense if this affects some of you, but it seems to me that the people who pay out the nose for taxes, live in a $300-500K house, live in a resort area, live in a large area like Tampa, Miami or whatever. They also make a whole hell of a lot more than firefighters and EMS does. What they should be complaining about is their homeowners insurance. I paid $700 a year in New Jersey and pay $2000 a year here. I understand we deal with hurricanes but that is a ridiculous amount of money. I also don't think people realize that the money cut from local budgets will have to be made up somewhere. Added sales tax, added sales tax to things that weren't taxed before, higher vehicle registration fees, higher fees hidden here and there. Our sales tax is already obnoxious at 8%. If they cut taxes by the amounts they are talking, where do you think that's going to come from? Here, they have talked about closing libraries, lowering animal control, and others, but still that only amounted to about a quarter of the deficit that will be created. They are going to go after the bigger spenders after that! IE, sheriff offices, fire departments, EMS departments.... I came down here for two reasons, cheaper cost of living (for the most part), and since I work for the county, I get the FRS. New Jersey offered me nothing for retirement. That's why I'm here. I love the area and don't want to leave, but I don't know what I'm going to do if I get laid off. Anyone else in fear for their job right now? And if anyone has any other discussions to steer me away from my rationalized fear, let me hear it!! I just have this feeling we are going to get screwed in January and want to know if you feel the same way.
Dustdevil Posted June 16, 2007 Posted June 16, 2007 Heck, if it'll make a few New York and New Jerseyites go back home, I'll recommend they cut taxes and services in Texas too! About the only places in Texas that taxes are high are where high concentrations of Yankees have moved in anyhow.
scratrat Posted June 16, 2007 Author Posted June 16, 2007 Would it help if we developed the twang so y'all could understand us?
VentMedic Posted June 16, 2007 Posted June 16, 2007 And if anyone has any other discussions to steer me away from my rationalized fear, let me hear it!! I just have this feeling we are going to get screwed in January and want to know if you feel the same way. [ Luckily, you are in Florida. The mean age of many parts of Florida is 85. They make up the majority the the tax payers and voters. Public Services such as EMS and Fire will be okay. One Sheriff's service in Florida is cutting out the Police Officers at schools to pay for the trauma helicopter staff. So, just make sure you've settled in a part of Florida that is considered a retirement area and you'll be set for job security. Many departments have phantom positions on the books that can give the illusion of positions being cut when they actually weren't there. These can also come as positions that have not been filled or posted even though the money has been available. Some companies view this as sort of a "saving for hard times" plan. As for as insurance and cost of living, that's another story. I've actually found the San Francisco Bay area to be reasonable for cost of living when compared to some areas of Florida. Earthquake insurance is cheap compared to all of the insurance policies needed in Florida. The wages are also almost triple. Granted you'll get more square footage for a home in Florida than SF for the same price. Insurance of any type is expensive in Florida, that is if you can even get insurance. Florida has relied on the Sunshine Tax on tourist industies to keep our income from being taxed. The hurricanes have put a strain on this revenue. Florida does offer some tax breaks though. They repealed the intangible tax effective this year. http://www.bankrate.com/yho/itax/edit/stat...ate_tax_Fla.asp To live in Florida, there'll be a price to pay with your low income, rising costs of housing, expensive and difficult to get insurance, possibility of losing everything in a hurricane and now tornados (a rarity until 10 years ago). So, welcome to Paradise!
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