Children in the South face higher health risks

“GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Children living in the South are up to three times more likely to battle poor health and its consequences — including obesity, teen pregnancy and death — than those in all other regions of the United States, even if they receive the same medical care, a new University of Florida study reveals.“Hurricane Katrina gave the world a glimpse of the disparities in the South,” says Dr. Jeffrey Goldhagen, the study’s lead author and an associate professor of community pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. “Our research documents just how profoundly these disparities impact the health of children in the region.”The study, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, is the first to statistically relate region of residence to measures of child health, Goldhagen says.“In fact, we now believe that where a child lives may be one of the most powerful predictors of child health outcomes and disparities,” he says.” - Source

The poor health outcomes researchers documented include low birth weight, teen pregnancy, death and other problems such as mental illness, asthma, obesity, tooth decay and school performance. In the midst of this finding, last week Governor Bush proposed a $71 billion dollar spending bill that would boost spending on several fronts, but also provide nearly a half of a billion dollars in tax cuts. Currently the State of Florida is flush with a budget surplus of $3.2 billion. And in an election year, Republican legislators want to turn one week in August into a high dollar item shopping spree by suppressing state sales taxes for the first $5,000 on most items. Republicans want to lift the statewide sales tax of 6 percent on items such as computers, furniture and TVs, as well as the first $5,000 of more expensive items such as cars and boats. The tax break would begin July 31 and end Aug. 6 and would benefit individuals, not businesses. The plan already has tacit approval of House leaders. If implemented it would be the biggest single tax cut ever in Florida with an estimated saving of half of a billion dollars.

As House Democrats called the Republicans' tax cut a "gimmick," they offered a counterproposal of a $100 check to every Florida family that takes a $25,000 homestead exemption. The total cost for the Democrats' plan would be about $430-million. . The Democrats have stated that the recent growth in the tax burden has fallen hardest on homeowners, who are paying higher property taxes, mostly for public schools. Those homeowners also are struggling with ever-increasing electric bills and insurance premiums. "Think about whom in our community is under the gun right now. Who's feeling the squeeze?" said Rep. Dan Geber, D-Miami Beach. "We could give every single homeowner in the state of Florida a check from Florida for $100. ... This is the right thing to do." However, the Democratic plan is simply another imposture posing as a solution. It does nothing to solve our long-term predicaments.

I submit that before squandering excess state revenue with tax breaks, lawmakers should make sure their giveaways will serve taxpayers' long-term interests. Shouldn’t we be looking at ways to improve our future and our future generations? In a time when we are faced with low birth weight, teen pregnancy, death and other problems such as mental illness, asthma, obesity, tooth decay and school performance, wouldn’t a long term stratgedy or an attempt to solve these problems seem a more suitable conclusion to a 3.2 billion dollar surplus. The financial benefits of solving our long-term enduring problems will eminently out way any immediate tax relieve and help ensure a strong economic future for our the great state Florida.

As a home owner, I would rather see a resolve to poor school performance for example rather than receive check for a $100.00. Maybe our government is attempting to divert our attention. Maybe Gov. Jeb Bush and lawmakers are trying to cut down on the need to build new schools. Maybe the legislature thinks that universities can meet some of their short-term needs next year by increasing tuition by 5 percent, as the governor has recommended. Maybe they think we the Rabble are not paying attention to our long term problems? Or that they can throw us a bone and divert our sense of long-term vision.
I urge the Floridians who read this blog to contact our representatives in Tallahassee and demand a better solution to the budget surplus. The last thing that our state needs is a gimmick, an attempt to appease tax payers in an election cycle, rather than an attempt to solve the difficult issues which face us and our children’s generation.