Back in March, New York Times columnist, and Nobel Prize winning economist, Paul Krugman "lamented" the size of the Stimulus package passed by Congress, arguing that the original Democrat-led plan for a considerably larger amount would've been, not only more effective, but faster.
In June, only months later, Krugman more or less told Republicans "I told you so" and also made a point of expressing that, in the short time since it's passage, nearly none of the funds had been introduced into the economy, so Republicans who proclaimed the stimulus a failure, had not only been premature, but incorrect by Krugman's assessment.
The Stimulus funds, however, are the least of Florida's worries: Governor Charlie Crist, despite supporting the passage of the Stimulus package, rejected over 444 million dollars of recovery funding from the Federal Government as part of the Stimulus. This wave of Conservative Conscience that Crist is feeling--most likely in response to challenges to his conservatism by GOP challenger Marco Rubio--has directly resulted in harming Floridians, and has resulted in significant number of Florida's students becoming homeless.
According to Florida Today, Brevard County in Central Florida was among the hardest hit. However, to dig deeper, the root of the problem is that the funds from the Stimulus would've gone to communities such as those affected across Florida, family and child service agencies, and schools themselves.
The statistic given by Florida Today, as of November, was a staggering " 572 students were classified as homeless or 'in transition.' A year earlier, 274 students were without homes." The logic of the Stimulus' application to this situation puts the blame on the Republicans in the State Legislature who pressured Crist to re-think his support of such a "liberal" measure.
Despite the State's failure to accept federal funds, Counties in such dire straits, such as Brevard, were finally able to get aid directly from the Federal Government, a sort of bittersweet victory: "Brevard never has been able to seek federal aid for its homeless students before because the numbers were too low. The $95,938 in federal grants, including $50,938 in stimulus money, will help provides services such as case management and cover the costs of college application and testing fees, school supplies and books, and some health care." according to Brevard District Officials.
Given the state of affairs in Florida, many of which pre-date the Stimulus debate (though, arguably, a result of haphazard tax cuts), Crist's declination of the federal funds has made him unpopular among Democrats across Florida, many of whom were supporters, prior to this.
The Florida Democratic Party, in recent weeks, has been pushing back against Crist's right-diving "shenanagans", and has been calling for him to put the people of Florida first; something they argue ceased to be his priority when he appointed place-holder George LeMieux to the vacant Senate seat that Crist is seeking next November.
Back in August, Democratic Congressman, and Crist challenger Kendrick Meek of the 17th district chastised Crist for his lack of urgency in allocating the little amount he did accept of the Stimulus: "It was easy for the governor to stand on stage in Fort Myers with President Obama in February in support of the stimulus," Congressman Meek said. "Florida is late in rolling up its sleeves to take advantage of these limited funds."
Needless to say, this will become a huge point of contention in the forthcoming GOP Primary against the purportedly "more conservative alternative" to Crist, former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, and if nominated, this line of events will certainly put Meek at a huge advantage over either of them with Florida's voters.
Besides not taking the Federal funds, the Florida Democratic Party, in a recent mailer, has criticized Crist for raising taxes "up as much as 983 percent. No that is not a typo, it how much Governor Crist is being forced to raise taxes since he didn't take $444 million in stimulus dollars."
The 983 percent tax increase correlates to approximately ten times the current tax rate per capita among Florida families; an unprecedented amount for a staunchly conservative Legislature and State Executive, especially just before a GOP Primary where questioning a candidate's conservatism is a key factor.
This leaves Floridians in a dangerous position: With the State rejecting federal aid, and raising taxes to account for the aid they did not accept, this makes the needy only needier.
Whether tax cuts or tax increases or an attempt at fiscal CPR are the cause, the current financial and societal state of Floridians at-large needs to be re-examined alongside the politics, ethics, and overall accountability of Governor Crist is the message being promoted by the Florida Democrats, and Congressman Meek.
Given the state of affairs across the country, it might not be such a bad idea; a sentiment being expressed on both sides of the aisle.
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