It has always annoyed me when Kentuckians who made their fortunes here decided, in their retirement years, to take those fortunes to Florida to avoid our taxes when they die. Leaving for the three months of winter to avoid the cold while maintaining your Kentucky residence is okay, but moving your home, voting and tax responsibilities doesn't seem quite fair to me.
Those who once looked toward Florida as a haven may be changing their minds. Editors at the Miami Herald recently commented that migration to Florida has stalled, "The word has gotten out about Florida. It is not the paradise that many people once thought it was."
Recently released figures from the moving company United Van Lines suggest that as many people are moving out of as are moving into the Sunshine State. Four years ago, 60 percent of its Florida shipments were inbound and 40 percent outbound. In the past two years the numbers of inbound and outbound shipments have been evenly split.
Comments from departing residents are that Florida is, "too crowded, too expensive, (there are) too many hurricanes, (and that storm insurance is) soaring."
In 2005, census figures indicated that 268,000 people moved into Florida from other states. In 2007, those figures were only 35,000. Interestingly, the number of international migrants has remained relatively steady.
If watching a change in seasons is attractive, there's no place like Kentucky. In the last month, two back-to-back weeks featured a range of temperatures from 50 to 71 degrees followed by a range of 10 to 20 degrees, with fierce winds. There's something here for everyone's taste.
If it doesn't suit you today, just wait a couple of days. The variation is interesting and stimulating. And there is always that sense of unimportance in national politics. We cannot figure into the race for the next presidential nominations; by the time we vote, those nominations will have been decided by the early primaries and the press. It won't be our fault, whoever gets nominated.
In Kentucky politics, though, it's time for the fascinating few days early in the legislative session when the legislature is full of talk about cooperating with the governor and vice versa. These days, like the weather, are short-lived and variable. Soon the whole fight will begin again. And already, there are pre-filed bills which will not pass but will take much of the legislature's time, in order to assure their more antediluvian constituents that their representative is bringing their concerns about everybody else's behavior to the attention of the 'gov-a-mint.'
Already, there are comments doubting the governor's assessment of the deficit situation in our money. I would be more frightened if it were not so customary when the new governor is elected that he finds empty coffers and the leader of the opposite party denies that he spent all the money.
Kentucky is an absolutely fascinating state, and Lexington is the garden spot of America. With all the challenges we face and all the comic relief in the search for solutions, why would anyone leave it? We have crowding of our own, though not as bad as Florida's. We have variety in weather, but Florida has hurricanes. Our politics are certainly no worse than theirs. Our schools, as bad as they are, are better than theirs and our springs and summers are lovelier.
Come home, you runaways, where you belong!