Crist, Legislature blow it again

Two issues were first and foremost in the minds of Floridians when they went to the polls last November to choose a new Governor:

- Property Taxes
- Windstorm insurance

Our new Governor Charlie Crist essentially promised that he would drastically improve access and affordability of Windstorm insurance and vowed to make property taxes "drop like a rock".

We are now almost a year from that election day and virtually nothing has changed. Florida, at Crist's urging, agreed to take on more of the burden of purchasing reissurance, which was "supposed" to result in insurers dropping Windstorm rates. With the exception of the state run insurer of last resort, Citizens, Windstorm rates have barely budged, in many instances, the rates continued to go up and thousands more homeowners have had their longtime policies cancelled by the major carriers. Consider that in the last 3 years alone, Windstorm rates in Florida have tripled and quadrupled and it's completely understandable why Floridians are fed up and have little reasonable expectation of affording the escalating costs.

On the matter of Property taxes, what Crist and the Legislature have come up with is beyond a joke. It's an outright insult to anyone who bought a home over the last 5 years and offers virtually no help to those who would like to buy a first home.

Any meaningful solution must begin with a rollback in property values to 2001-2002 levels. Those who owned a homesteaded property prior to those years were, by and large, able to afford the tax bill with the "save our homes" 3% yearly cap. Since 2002, the runnup in property values in the Sunshine state was artifically driven by investors, speculators, dreamers and unscrupulous developers and has resulted in the current real estate market stalemate we have today. First time buyers can't afford the artificially inflated values and existing home owners can't move up or downsize as they'll lose the save our homes cap and get hit with gargantuan tax increases because of the artificial home values.

What to do? I believe Property taxes must be addressed first. Home values across the country have been steadily declining. In artifically inflated markets like Florida, the decline will be long and steep. Values need to drop some 40% before home values again make sense. The longer the Governor and Legislature wait to address property tax inequities, the worse the market will become. Roll back property taxes now to 2002 levels and bar counties from any local increases as a result of these cuts. Use the advertising money spent by Florida Lotto to fund any shortfall in Education funds. All other services will revert back to 2002 funding levels, which worked just fine in 2002. For all existing homeowners, add portability and leave the Cap on "Save our Homes" at 3%.

Once home values come in line, Windstorm rates will drop accordingly due to decreased property values. But this must be taken a step further. A Hurricane catastrophic fund, similar to the Federal Flood plan, must be setup with all Southeast and Northeast states participating. Input will be based on a sliding scale according to property value and risk. Homeowners who own their properties outright should be allowed to opt out of Windstorm coverage, which is presently not an option in Florida. Along with these changes, rates must return to 2003 levels. Any insurer doing business in Florida who refuses to comply must lose all state business, not just Windstorm. It can no longer be permissable that Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, etc., etc., can drop hundreds of thousands of Windstorm policies, while continuing to write Auto, Life and other policies for residents.

Obviously, this plan could undergo some additional tweaking but it's a heck of a lot better than anything I've seen to date from Crist, the Florida Senate or House.

October thrills, spills and more

For all of the long suffering Phillies fans around the country, finally, we have a reason to believe! Here's hoping for the longest October ever ... minus any hurricanes in South Florida, please?

We are only 4 days into the month of witches and goblins and the news just keeps on coming ...

- We now learn, thanks to the New York Times, that former AG Gonzo authorized secret endorsement of severe interrogations. Actually, much of this was suspected, but we now have verification and admission this secret document exists. Perhaps I'll live long enough to see this guy tried for war crimes.

- Hillary Clinton appears to be leading all other Dem candidates for President in National polls by an astounding 30 points! Hey, you go girl! Seriously, I truly haven't made up my mind on the primary candidates and I'm having difficulty believing that this level of support, so early, is etched in stone.

- Senator Larry Craig will not be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea for lewd behavior in an airport bathroom. Based on everything I have read about this incident, I'm dumbstruck as to why he pled guilty in the first place. Since doing so, most legal scholars insisted it would be near impossible to withdraw the plea and they appear to be right. In which case, Craig's stupidity trumps everything else, and he'll be forced out of the Senate if he doesn't leave on his own.

- Senator Pete Domenici announced he will leave the Senate, creating yet another open Seat for the Dems to color blue next year. Rep. Heather Wilson has already indicated her intent to enter the race, but having barely won her own Congresstional district a year ago, any reasonable, experienced Democratic candidate in New Mexico should be victorious next November. Of course, when (not if) Bill Richardson bails on his Presidential aspirations, he would be a shoe-in for this Seat.

And wasn't that Top Chef finale awesome? The way the judges were going at it at the Judges' table last night, I really had no idea whether they would choose Dale or Hung as the new "Top Chef". Hung got the nod, the cover of Food & Wine Mag, the Aspen gig and the $100K. Congrats!