Real Estate Blog

County Commission vote shows 'struggling taxpayers be dammed

By Jack Furnari

Jess “The Mad Hatter” Santamaria, Jeff “Limousine Liberal” Koons, Priscilla “I’ll deliver the black vote for Charlie”” Taylor, Burt “I don’t care anymore” Aaronson, and Karen “I was never really a Republican anyway” Marcus proved yesterday that the Palm Beach County Commission is broken, almost beyond repair. In a 5-2 vote, these five commissioners, urged on by their puppet master, enabler and darling of the local media, County Administrator Bob Weisman, raised property taxes yesterday by 14.9%. Republican Steve Abrams and Democrat Shelly Vana cast the two dissenting votes and were the only voices of sanity in an otherwise predictable and disgraceful fleecing of the beleaguered taxpayers of Palm Beach County. In a phone interview with me this morning, Steve Abrams said “High tax burdens prolong recessions and this was a terrible time to raise taxes.” He’s absolutely right, but common sense economics means little to the commission's “slaughter house five.” There just isn’t any point anymore in pretending that a constructive dialogue with these five commissioners accomplishes anything. Despite all their talk to the contrary, the “let-them-eat-cake” five proved with this tax increase that their real constituents are the lobbyists, unions, non-profits, no growth eco-nuts and county employees. Desperately struggling taxpayers be dammed.

Jack Furnari is a conservative activist and a columnist for the Boca Raton News. He can be reached at jacktda@yahoo.com