NFIB Launches Your Dollar, Your Decision
CONTACT: Kristen Ploska, 850-681-0416
Coalition to cap local government spending kicks off campaign
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The National Federation of Independent Business, the state's leading small business association, today launched Your Dollar, Your Decision, a constitutional initiative to cap local government spending.
"Your Dollar, Your Decision is a campaign to place a cap on local government spending that is breakable only by voter approval," NFIB/Florida founding coalition partner Bill Herrle said. "The cap would tie local government growth to inflation, preventing government from growing faster than the citizens' ability to pay for it. To spend above the cap, local government would need to get approval from the voters."
The goal of Your Dollar, Your Decision is to place the spending cap amendment on the 2010 ballot via petition. Petitions can be downloaded at www.YourDollarYourDecision.com.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP-FL), the Florida Taxpayers Union and the former Tax Cap Committee are partnering with NFIB to form Your Dollar, Your Decision. The groups joined NFIB in Tallahassee for the campaign launch.
"Today is a historic day for Florida families -- when this is enacted we will finally have fiscal responsibility on the local level," AFP-FL State Director Adam Guillette said. "We are very excited to work with the National Federation of Independent Businesses to bring this necessary reform to the 2010 ballot."
AFP-FL along with the Florida Taxpayers Union have been active in many recent initiatives to limit government growth and bring with them not only experience but large membership bases in support of holding government responsible for spending.
"Florida Taxpayers Union is excited to join Your Dollar, Your Decision to bring real tax reform to Florida," Florida Taxpayers Union President John Hallman said. "The primary reason for our property tax crisis is out of control local government spending. Without a constitutional amendment to have a reasonable limit on how much local government can spend each year, local governments will find other sources of revenue to extract from taxpayers."
David Biddulph, president of the former Tax Cap Committee and AFP-FL advisory board member, worked in the 1990s to generate interest in a revenue cap and successfully collected over 750,000 signatures, a feat that Biddulph is certain can be accomplished now.
"This proposed constitutional amendment gives hope to millions of Floridians that after November 2010 they will finally have the constitutional right to vote on government spending," Biddulph said.
Support for a proposal to cap local government spending was echoed in a statewide poll of Florida voters conducted recently by NFIB.
"Seventy-four percent of Florida voters support voter approval to raise government spending," Herrle said. "It is clear that taxpayers are tired of being taken advantage of by their local governments and are ready to have a say in how their money is being spent."
NFIB member Mike Fraser, owner of Tallahassee Camera Center, joined the coalition at the launch and was the first to sign the petition.
"As a business owner, I would expect that government live within its means just as businesses and families do. We cannot continue to burden tax payers at a time when they are not seeing increases in their income," Fraser said. "A cap on local governments will give business owners security that local government won't grow faster than our ability to pay for it."