Kicks the Can Down the Road

Mayor Curry is spreading a "sky is falling" message all over town. It's typical politics to scare people to vote for a program.Fear mongering is a common tactic of Mayor Curry's team.

Despite the messaging blitz, Mayor Curry does not explain the net cost of his plan. Why? Because Jacksonville will likely spend a lot more money if he gets his way.


This blurry graph comes from the City of Jacksonville. Source

If we follow our current payment schedule, by 2045 the pension will be 98 percent funded (see scenario 1/green line in above graph), and payments will drop to below $50 million.

Under Mayor Curry’s sales tax plan, by 2045 the pension will be funded between 56 and 68 percent (see scenario 2/blue line and scenario 3/red line in above graph). Payments will ultimately increase to beyond $200 million and we’ll (read your children) will be in a much worst position.

Mayor Curry keeps comparing Jacksonville's pension issues to Detroit to scare the city into accepting his tax proposal. The thing about Detroit, they’re notorious for kicking the can down the road. Mayor Curry’s sales tax plan traps Jacksonville residents into making larger and larger payments for a longer period, which is exactly how Detroit became Detroit.