Crist immediate 15% budget freeze: Liberal Media, Florida Democrats go Apeshit over proposed cuts

Florida budget cuts could hit children, elderly, LEOs

Crist's economic policies threaten Florida's future

More than a thousand people from all parts of Florida traveled to Tallahassee Wednesday to protest budget cuts that are destroying public education in Florida, and Crist was a no-show.

He keeps promoting further tax cuts even though school districts are being forced to close schools, lay off teachers and cut programs because of the budget hits they've already taken.

TALLAHASSEE -- As Florida's finances continue to unravel, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday froze 15 percent of state spending for the rest of this budget year.

The effect is to hold back about $800 million that already cash-strapped agencies were expecting to pay their bills for the rest of the budget year

''This budget, we're just in total dysfunction,'' said Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. ``We cannot do across-the-board cuts. It means we're not prioritizing education and healthcare over everything else.''

Hearing that, Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, said: ``We're going to have serious safety consequences of safety, recidivism and riots.''

''This is just more evidence of how fluid and deteriorating the state's economic condition is,'' said [Miami-Dade School Superintendent] Carvalho, who called the cut ``an impossible-to-achieve reduction. It's a sad state of irony that the day after the largest rally of students and educators in Tallahassee, this announcement would be made.''