DOES FLORIDA NEED A NANNY?

December 2009

I know a thing or two about children. I have eight of them. So bear with me if I give a lesson on child rearing. 

Freedom is something you give gradually to a child and at times it is something you need to take away. For

example, a couple of my younger children used to tear up my wife’s flowers in the backyard. In response, I

removed their freedom to play there unwatched. Since there wasn’t always a parent available to oversee their

backyard romps, they often would have to find something to do inside. When they complained I would say, “If

you govern yourself, you won’t need someone to govern you.”  I use this saying often, even with older kids as

they grow in maturity and want more freedom. And if they show they can handle self sovereingty, I increase

their freedom.

As I ponder these things, I have to wonder what the Federal Government thinks about us. They take away more

and more of our self rule, contrary to the what’s written in the United States Constitution. It’s as if we are

irresponsible children who need managing. Are the States the Federal Government’s children? Irresponsible, in

need of parenting? Not at all. The State of Florida rules its self far better than Washington rules the country. 

Consider the following proofs:

When our country started, congressmen were 

paid $6/day. Granted, a dollar was worth 

much more then than today, but it didn’t 

compare to what a businessman could 

make elsewhere. No one fore-saw  career 

politicians becoming a problem. 

But as the years rolled on, Washington 

gradually increased their power and salary 

until this once public servant became a 

lucrative power broker.  Now, large 

corporations are more than ready to pay 

the campaign money needed to keep these 

career politicians in office as long as 

bailouts, grants, contracts and laws in their 

favor keep rolling out of Washington. 

Rights and tax money are taken from the 

people and given to big business and 

special interest groups.  Many have 

tried to push for Washington to set 

term limits, but the U.S. Congress knows they have 

a good thing and they won’t budge.

FLORIDA

The State of Florida limits how long a person

can hold  office. After a legislator serves eight

years in office their name can no

longer appear on a Florida ballet. The

Offices covered are: 

Representatives, Senators,

Lieutenant Governor and the Florida

Cabinet.

Florida even passed a bill to limit the

term of their U.S. Senators and

Representatives which is well within

their Constitutional rights. They are

Florida’s representatives to Congress,

not vice-versa. The 10th Admendment

states that powers not given to the Fed

belong to the States. Since the Fed says it

doesn’t have this right, it only follows that

the States can set these term limits.

Nevertheless, in 1995 the Supreme

Court ruled that no one has the right to limit Federal

terms.

Where to begin?

Our national debt is so big that it over fills our ability to 

comprehend its size. Kind of like the buffer overflow 

vulnerability that computers used to have. Computer viruses 

would send so much information to a computer that  the 

computer would just stop working. The same has 

happened to us.

The size of one trillion alone cannot be grasped by 

the human mind. We need visuals to gain 

perspective. For example, a stack of a  

trillion one dollar bills would reach more 

than one fourth the way from the earth to 

the moon.

Because the number is cognatively 

unattainable, we don’t see 

the large jump between  1 

trillion to 2 trillion or even 

to 24 trillion for that 

matter. So we don’t cry 

out when another trillion has been added 

to the debt.

This has left the door wide open for crooked Federal 

lawmakers to OK any Federal spending as long as it helps 

them get re-elected. 

 

FLORIDA

Our Florida

Consti-

tution pro-

hibits the

state

govern-

ment from

spending more

money than it

takes in.

Article VII, Section 1 (d) reads:

“Provision shall be made by law

for raising sufficient revenue to

defray the expenses of the state

for each fiscal period”.

Or in other words, Florida

lawmakers must raise as much

money as they spend each year.

Florida can only raise money by

taxes and fees. Since lawmakers

who raise taxes usually don’t get

re-elected, Florida legislators are

careful about increased

spending.

The United States was founded, in part, as a 

result of colonists revolting against unfair and 

exorbitant taxes. Today, the tax laws are 

so complex people are afraid to file their 

own taxes. This has brought on the rise of 

tax software and tax filing services. Now, in 

addition to having to pay taxes, we have to pay 

someone who will do our taxes for us. That’s like 

going shopping and having the cashier charge you 

extra just for telling you what the charge is.

The general public doesn’t like the IRS. And because we are 

afraid of it, unlike the colonist, we take it. As the largest federal 

bureaucracy in our nation, the IRS employs 115,000 people. Thats 

larger than the Brittish army during the revolutionary war (50,000 

Redcoats & 30,000 German mercenaries).

The IRS has mercenaries, too. In 2004, the IRS started using private 

collection agencies to collect unpaid taxes. So now if you owe taxes, in 

addition to the IRS emptying your bank account and garnishing your wages, you 

can expect someone calling you up and telling you you’re a loser. 

FLORIDA

Florida doesn’t

have an income

tax. You keep

what you make.

Florida collects

revenue with

sales tax. So

everyone pays a fair

share of taxes. Drug

dealers, prostitutes, and

illegal aliens and others who

wouldn’t pay income tax can’t

escape sales tax.

There you have it. Florida is a better run government than Washington. There is no precedent for federal

beaurocrats ignoring the Tenth Admendment of our Constitution which prohibits them from increasing their

power over us. We, as well as most states, do a better job than Washington, but even if we didn’t, the federal

government has no right to disobey our Constitution.

ACTION CENTER

Pd. pol. adv. paid for and approved by Scott Yardley, Republican for State Representative District 95.