Rebuilding Florida’s economy is the most important task facing the Legislature today.

Our state’s unemployment and foreclosure rates are among the highest in the nation. Falling home values and higher taxes and fees have combined to hit Florida’s working families at a time when they can least afford it.

Unfortunately, my opponent and the Republican leadership in Tallahassee continue to embrace the failed policies of the past.

This past year, my opponent voted for close to $1 billion in new taxes in the form of “fees” on everything from drivers licenses to auto tags to fishing licenses.

But while raising taxes on working families, the Republican leadership kept in place a slew of tax breaks for the special interests that fund their campaigns. So, if you are fortunate enough to be able to afford Super Bowl tickets, sky box seats or million dollar yachts, or, if you happen to buy a lot of ostrich feed, you can rest easy – those giveaways were deemed too important to touch.

And in spite of huge budget shortfalls, my opponent – who happens to be a developer – voted with his party to give huge tax breaks to developers. In the past, developers had been required to help pay for roads needed to service their projects. Last year, however, the Legislature changed those requirements and shifted the burden of paying for those roads onto local taxpayers. That unfunded mandate led several cities to file suit against the state.

With foreclosures at an all-time high in Florida it makes no sense to subsidize the constuction of additional homes

The change was billed as a way of stimulating the economy. Unfortunately, the law ignores economic realities: At a time when foreclosures are at an all-time high and demand is at an all-time low, it makes no sense to offer incentives to build more homes. The law of supply and demand teaches us that creating more inventory at a time of when the market is already flooded puts downward pressure on existing home values. To force existing homeowners to subsidize new growth is not only bad economic policy, it’s just plain wrong.

We can do better

Florida’s economy has always depended primarily on agriculture, tourism and “growth.” As we have seen over the past several years, all of those industries are subject to dramatic fluctuations. If we are to strengthen our economy and create good-paying jobs we must diversify.

In order to do so, we must focus our efforts on promoting those industries that can produce the type of products and services that can’t be easily outsourced.

With the right incentives, Florida can become a leader in fields like medicine, renewable energy and high-tech products and services.

Those industries provide high-wage jobs that can’t be outsourced to low-wage countries that lack our technological edge.

Those changes won’t happen overnight and they won’t happen at all without making the right kind of investments.

We need a combination of tax incentives, regulatory reform and public-private partnerships to stimulate those industries.

We need a new commitment to providing our children with educational opportunities that will allow them to be competitive in the global economy and adult education programs that will help unemployed Floridians transition into good-paying jobs.

Most of all, we need a vision for the future and a commitment to see it through.