7/31/08
"A Meaningful Look At The Real Cost To Our Nation Caused By Illegal Immigration"
Why do you suppose that a relatively large group of politicians have favored not enforcing our immigration laws and allowing millions of illegal aliens from Mexico and other countries to herd over our porous borders? And then after they have broken our immigration laws and entered our land, why would they be against herding them back across the border and out of our society? Why in the world would a politician think this was a good idea?
Well, the solution is simple. This group of politicians derives their political strength from their exploitation of the uneducated, poor and deprived segment of our society. Thus, the larger this group becomes, the more job security they enjoy. If these illegals do not somehow manage to vote….their children soon will. These politicians are thus using billions and billions of our tax dollars for the selfish, self serving purpose of buying future votes for their job security.
At this time it is estimated that over 20,000,000 illegal immigrants are living inside the USA at a total cost to the American taxpayers of over $180,000,000,000 ($180 Billion!) per year. This is more than the cost of the Iraq War. These costs include the billions in increased Medicaid payments, unfunded costs borne by hospitals, welfare and entitlement payments, the cost of language specialists in thousands of government offices and courts, the court costs for crimes committed by illegal aliens, the cost of incarceration of these felons, the costs born by their thousands of victims, the costs created in our schools, added costs in providing law enforcement and security, and the American workers that are displaced as these illegal immigrants take their jobs. Higher property taxes, higher general taxation, and larger deficits are the net result of these huge costs.
There have been 51,000 Americans killed by illegal aliens during the past seven years. Approximately half of these deaths occurred as a result of drunk drivers, and the other half were felony acts of murder.
The existing national policy grants automatic citizenship to any baby born on U.S. soil. This acts as a magnet and thus draws more illegal intruders across our borders. It is a foolish and constitutionally questionable policy.
The arguments favoring granting newborns citizenship argue that British common law provides the basis for this policy. British common law did not even recognize the concept of citizenship, citing "subjectship" and master/servant relationships as the basis for legal representation before governments. One of our nations founders and signer of the Constitution, James Wilson, stated that citizenship is based on consent of the governed, not by the accident of birth. Citizenship is created by law.
The 14th Amendment gave more definition to the concept of citizenship. It states, "All persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and subject to the Jurisdiction of US laws are deemed to be citizens." This amendment specifically excluded Indians from citizenship, since they were born on US soil, but were under the Jurisdiction of their tribal laws. Also, children born in the US from foreign Ambassadors and ministers are not granted citizenship. It is clear that the intent was not to automatically grant this privilege to any baby born here.
In 1998 the Supreme Court ruled in the case of US vs Wong Kim that a baby born in the US of legal residents’ aliens is a citizen. Please note the term "LEGAL". The current practice of automatically granting all newborns US citizenship is merely based on policy.
The government of Mexico is protesting any efforts here to curtail illegal immigration, to deport them, or to reduce their assumed rights here. It is easier for Mexico to export their poverty than it would be for them to reform their political and economic systems.
Several of the 9-1-1 hijackers purchased false passports and documents from an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. Lax enforcement of our immigration laws greatly decreases our level of homeland security.
The existing US population is estimated to be 301 million. If the existing level of immigration continues, the US population will be over 435 million by 2050. Over 300,000 births from illegal alien parents are currently occurring each year. Just imagine the added strain on our resources such as water, food, and energy this astounding growth will create.
Remember, all of these costs and dangers exist because many of our politicians see the future votes coming to them from this new, illegal segment of our society….regardless of the damage and cost to our nation. Currently there are two bills in Congress that will move us towards granting amnesty and citizenship to the 20 million illegal immigrants that are already here. They are HR 1645 and HR 5515, please tell your legislators and legislative candidates that you do not want these bills to pass. Become concerned about this important national problem and you will be "Getting It Right".
I want thank my dear friend and fellow conservative, Bob Cowan, for inspiring me to write a column on this subject, and for providing much of the statistical documentation I used.
Rudiments- Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
♦ The new steeple at the Methodist Church in Marianna is very attractive. Marianna has a very beautiful and unique arrangement relating to the location of four major churches in close proximity on essentially the same street. I see it as a shame that the four block portion of the street has to be called "Clinton Street", when something like "Baptismal Boulevard", "Revival Road", "Salvation Street", or even "Proper Pathway" would be much more appropriate and would add attention to the town feature. Do you suppose we could get the name changed for that part of the street?
♦ I realize that the folks in Bascom have been working for several years to get a grant to preserve their old schoolhouse. However, with escalating costs to citizens and the potential revenue losses and budget cuts our bureaucracy is facing, and with all of the uncertainties that exist…it seems foolish for our State government to continue to spew out grants for "nice to have…but not essential" projects. In my opinion the $135,600 grant for a playground in Bascom is inappropriate and wasteful at this time.
♦ In my opinion, the same degree of inappropriateness and wastefulness is represented by the two similar grants of $135,600 each awarded to Marianna by the State as they shovel out $24,000,000 for park projects to communities all over the state. These grants are for improvements to the park at the end of Madison Street and for the addition of a bicycle trail and renovations to the M.E.R.E. Park. "Nice, but not essential". I do not applaud our legislators and others who apparently approve of this expenditure. Another of these grants was given to Sneads. They plan to build a skateboard park with their funds.
♦ At almost the same moment the legislature was spewing away this $24 million dollars in parks grants, they passed a mandate that forces school boards across the state to raise their millage. In Jackson County this 3.4% increase in school taxes will cause county property owners to pay approximatley $306,000 in added taxes.......so who is really paying for those park grants?
♦ While families are struggling to keep their electricity turned on, pay their mortgages, buy gasoline to get to work, and trying to buy milk and food for their children, our legislators and bureaucracies are continuing to play the same old "tax and spend" games. How much longer will the public tolerate this approach?
♦ Still nothing but stonewalling from the County Commissioners on consideration of the Wal-Mart Building (it is still available but about to slip away).
Author’s Note: The opinions expressed in this column are my own and do not necessarily express those of Hatcher Publishing.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Getting It Right- “It all comes down to quality of leadership.”
7/24/08
"What is really going on in the U.S. economy?"
I still hear politicians and economists on television talk shows referring to the current downturn in the U. S. economy as a "recessionary cycle". From this reference it is obvious they feel we are merely in a routine period of correction and after a few months our economy will rebound into more sustained growth and prosperity. ….I wish they were correct.
I believe this is much more than a "normal business cycle". In my opinion the U.S. economy is experiencing a major change in direction. It is entering a phase of prolonged declining growth due to the combined impact of several external factors. As a result, for the first time since the nation exited the Great Depression of the 1930’s, our citizens now face a prolonged period of worsening standards of living.
This unfortunate situation has been precipitated by several factors, most of which are today beyond our scope of control. For the past two hundred years our nation and its economy has been nurtured and managed within a "cocoon of security" that allowed it to grow and flourish as our population grew, our national wealth expanded, and needed technologies developed. We were always able to control the pulse of our economy since virtually all of the contributing ingredients that were involved were all internal to our nation and available for manipulation by our leadership. This condition existed well into the 1980’s.
Then, in the late 1980’s things began to change……
• Our domestic petroleum reserves significantly depleted and our leaders allowed us to become more and more dependent on Mideast oil.
• The environmental movement became the "bandwagon of the decade" and all politicians wanted to get a "green stamp" showing they supported the environmentalist. As a result, severe restrictions and bans were placed on exploring and drilling for oil in Alaska, off shore and rocky mountain shale. Building of refineries was outlawed. Simultaneously the increased use of nuclear power was prohibited, and use of coal was curtailed. We became totally dependent on Mideast oil while our politicians fought over and discussed, and re-discussed a non-existent "national energy policy".
• Then another "bandwagon" movement began. This time it wore the clever name tags of "Free Trade" and "Global Economy". Again, most of our politicians jumped aboard this flawed concept, and several trade agreements were enacted to open our markets to the world, duty and quota free. As a result during the period from 1995 to 2005 we saw a major part of our industrial base move to Asia, especially China. We were not trading on an even playing field as our Politicians allowed free trade entry for foreign products while those same nations placed restrictions on our exports to them. This severe, sustained imbalance of trade subsequently weakened our dollar on foreign markets, and made Mideast oil become significantly more expensive to buy with U.S. dollars.
• Then throw in a vicious attack of our nation by terrorist on 9-11-01, deteriorating Mideast alliances, expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…..and soaring greed from the Mid-eastern Sheiks and OPEC who desire to use our thirst for oil as a way to strangle and destroy our economy…..and we have the condition of today.
In the face of this dilemma we have a divided, ineffective congress in the midst of a presidential election campaign. So, at a time when we need strong, effective leadership we find our boat adrift and foundering in a sea of dangerous torment. MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Rudiments – Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
• The County Commissioners are in the process of reviewing departmental budget requests for the 2008-2009 county budget. I have attended some of these sessions and have the following observations;
• I applaud Roads and Bridges Supt. Al Green for his proposal to establish strategically located tank farms for fueling their equipment in order to save fuel wasted obtaining fuel in the existing system. Whether it is done by use of a tank truck going to the sites, or by use of remote tank farms, the concept appears to be valid. I also applaud all involved for taking an open minded approach to evaluating this proposal.
• I also applaud the Commissioners for digging deeper than normal as they evaluate each department’s budget request. Also their penetration of the "veil of secrecy" relating to the budgets within the offices of our Constitutional Officers was a much needed management step.
• On the negative side, they apparently are leaning towards granting a 2.5% increase to all county employees. I am sure this is much needed due to the escalating cost of electricity, fuel, and food….but we are all suffering. Remember, it is our tax dollars they are using.
• Please note the mosquito alert shown on page A3, issued by the health authorities. How can the EPA deny that they are creating a health hazard by requiring all projects to build water retention ponds in the midst of our population?
• Prediction: By the first of the year our unemployment rate will exceed 6%.
From my e-mail:
We used to have a strong dollar ... politicians changed that.
Life used to be sacred ... politicians changed that.
Marriage used to be sacred ... politicians are changing that.
We used to be respected around the world…politicians changed that.
We used to have a strong manufacturing economy ... politicians changed that.
We used to have lower tax structures ... politicians changed that.
We used to enjoy more freedoms ... politicians changed that.
We used to have property rights…politicians changed that.
We used to be a large exporter of American made goods ... politicians changed that.
We used to be an openly Christian nation .... politicians changed that.
We used to teach patriotism in schools ... politicians changed that.
We used to educate children in schools ... politicians changed that.
We used to enjoy freedom of speech ... politicians changed that.
We once had affordable food and gas prices...politicians changed that, too.
...and one could go on and on with this list.
What hasn’t changed is politicians promising to change everything for the betterment if you will elect them. When, oh when, is America going to sit back with open eyes and look at what we once were and say, enough is enough? The trouble is, America’s youthful voters today don’t know of the great America that existed forty and fifty years ago. They see the world as if it has always existed, as it is now. When will we wake up? Tomorrow may be too late. When will America realize ... A 20 year history of bad political actions and decisions is what is wrong with America?
Vote wisely this year….and you will be ‘Getting It Right"!
Note: The opinions expressed in the column are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hatcher Publications.
"What is really going on in the U.S. economy?"
I still hear politicians and economists on television talk shows referring to the current downturn in the U. S. economy as a "recessionary cycle". From this reference it is obvious they feel we are merely in a routine period of correction and after a few months our economy will rebound into more sustained growth and prosperity. ….I wish they were correct.
I believe this is much more than a "normal business cycle". In my opinion the U.S. economy is experiencing a major change in direction. It is entering a phase of prolonged declining growth due to the combined impact of several external factors. As a result, for the first time since the nation exited the Great Depression of the 1930’s, our citizens now face a prolonged period of worsening standards of living.
This unfortunate situation has been precipitated by several factors, most of which are today beyond our scope of control. For the past two hundred years our nation and its economy has been nurtured and managed within a "cocoon of security" that allowed it to grow and flourish as our population grew, our national wealth expanded, and needed technologies developed. We were always able to control the pulse of our economy since virtually all of the contributing ingredients that were involved were all internal to our nation and available for manipulation by our leadership. This condition existed well into the 1980’s.
Then, in the late 1980’s things began to change……
• Our domestic petroleum reserves significantly depleted and our leaders allowed us to become more and more dependent on Mideast oil.
• The environmental movement became the "bandwagon of the decade" and all politicians wanted to get a "green stamp" showing they supported the environmentalist. As a result, severe restrictions and bans were placed on exploring and drilling for oil in Alaska, off shore and rocky mountain shale. Building of refineries was outlawed. Simultaneously the increased use of nuclear power was prohibited, and use of coal was curtailed. We became totally dependent on Mideast oil while our politicians fought over and discussed, and re-discussed a non-existent "national energy policy".
• Then another "bandwagon" movement began. This time it wore the clever name tags of "Free Trade" and "Global Economy". Again, most of our politicians jumped aboard this flawed concept, and several trade agreements were enacted to open our markets to the world, duty and quota free. As a result during the period from 1995 to 2005 we saw a major part of our industrial base move to Asia, especially China. We were not trading on an even playing field as our Politicians allowed free trade entry for foreign products while those same nations placed restrictions on our exports to them. This severe, sustained imbalance of trade subsequently weakened our dollar on foreign markets, and made Mideast oil become significantly more expensive to buy with U.S. dollars.
• Then throw in a vicious attack of our nation by terrorist on 9-11-01, deteriorating Mideast alliances, expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan…..and soaring greed from the Mid-eastern Sheiks and OPEC who desire to use our thirst for oil as a way to strangle and destroy our economy…..and we have the condition of today.
In the face of this dilemma we have a divided, ineffective congress in the midst of a presidential election campaign. So, at a time when we need strong, effective leadership we find our boat adrift and foundering in a sea of dangerous torment. MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Rudiments – Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
• The County Commissioners are in the process of reviewing departmental budget requests for the 2008-2009 county budget. I have attended some of these sessions and have the following observations;
• I applaud Roads and Bridges Supt. Al Green for his proposal to establish strategically located tank farms for fueling their equipment in order to save fuel wasted obtaining fuel in the existing system. Whether it is done by use of a tank truck going to the sites, or by use of remote tank farms, the concept appears to be valid. I also applaud all involved for taking an open minded approach to evaluating this proposal.
• I also applaud the Commissioners for digging deeper than normal as they evaluate each department’s budget request. Also their penetration of the "veil of secrecy" relating to the budgets within the offices of our Constitutional Officers was a much needed management step.
• On the negative side, they apparently are leaning towards granting a 2.5% increase to all county employees. I am sure this is much needed due to the escalating cost of electricity, fuel, and food….but we are all suffering. Remember, it is our tax dollars they are using.
• Please note the mosquito alert shown on page A3, issued by the health authorities. How can the EPA deny that they are creating a health hazard by requiring all projects to build water retention ponds in the midst of our population?
• Prediction: By the first of the year our unemployment rate will exceed 6%.
From my e-mail:
We used to have a strong dollar ... politicians changed that.
Life used to be sacred ... politicians changed that.
Marriage used to be sacred ... politicians are changing that.
We used to be respected around the world…politicians changed that.
We used to have a strong manufacturing economy ... politicians changed that.
We used to have lower tax structures ... politicians changed that.
We used to enjoy more freedoms ... politicians changed that.
We used to have property rights…politicians changed that.
We used to be a large exporter of American made goods ... politicians changed that.
We used to be an openly Christian nation .... politicians changed that.
We used to teach patriotism in schools ... politicians changed that.
We used to educate children in schools ... politicians changed that.
We used to enjoy freedom of speech ... politicians changed that.
We once had affordable food and gas prices...politicians changed that, too.
...and one could go on and on with this list.
What hasn’t changed is politicians promising to change everything for the betterment if you will elect them. When, oh when, is America going to sit back with open eyes and look at what we once were and say, enough is enough? The trouble is, America’s youthful voters today don’t know of the great America that existed forty and fifty years ago. They see the world as if it has always existed, as it is now. When will we wake up? Tomorrow may be too late. When will America realize ... A 20 year history of bad political actions and decisions is what is wrong with America?
Vote wisely this year….and you will be ‘Getting It Right"!
Note: The opinions expressed in the column are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hatcher Publications.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Getting It Right- Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance
7/17/08
In my opinion there is an obvious need within our local governments for a system that provides coordinated, inter-governmental, short and long range facility planning. I feel that this shortfall in a vital management function is costing the taxpayers of Florida and our community, millions of dollars in wasted, excessive, and avoidable, government expenditures.
We are in a situation where we are building, are planning to build, or have already built, several new, expensive government buildings while other, government owned facilities sit idle and decaying. I feel that the new Emergency Operations Center, the new Health Department Building, the planned consolidated County Administration Building, and the JCARC building on Pennsylvania Avenue, could all have been housed in existing space at an overall cost that would have been millions of dollars less.
A prudent, profit motivated business would not build new space while it owned other space that was empty. A company would renovate, restructure, and move into facilities at a minimum of cost to the company. Why can our governments not take the same approach?
The first and foremost reason governments do not emphasize costs, is that there is no profit motive, and reducing costs is generally several steps down the management’s scale of importance. Since cost is not a primary factor, many bureaucratic managers feel they would be remiss by not taking advantage of an opportunity to move into a bright, clean, new, (and expensive) building, instead of moving into a reconditioned, older building. After all, it is only tax money, and that MUST be spent. "If we don’t get it….someone else will", is a prevailing misdirected, philosophy.
Another cause is the narrow minded, internally focused system of management used by many segments of government. Too often, each segment tends to take an "isolationist" attitude in regards to its budget, staff, and properties. What belongs to the City is the property of the City, what belongs to the School System is the property of the School System, and what belongs to the County is the property of the County. No one stops to rationalize the fact it all belongs to the citizens, and is all public property. As a result, each entity is struggling with its own needs, and developing its own solutions……with no one looking at the overall picture for the best solution.
Another contributing element is the manner in which most construction projects are funded. The usual source of funds is State or Federal "grants" administered by parent organizational agencies, or various foundations and programs which have been funded by legislative actions. This is true locally in the cases of the new Emergency Operations Center, the new Health Department Building, and the JCARC building. For some seemingly senseless reason, these grants often specify "new construction", and thus remove consideration of less expensive "renovation" projects. I am not sure whether his shortsightedness is caused by the manner in which the grant applications are written…or if it is due to poor administrative procedures by the bureaucracies and bureaucrats that administer these funds. Many of these grants should allow "renovation" as a consideration for facility needs.
And finally, I believe that much of this wasteful and unnecessary spending on facilities by governments and government agencies is caused by a general disregard of the need for wise and prudent stewardship of tax dollars that should exist as a primary responsibility of any governmental decision maker. Everyone often is guilty of "playing the game" to maximize what can be reaped from the State or Federal government for local use. Since everyone simultaneously plays this foolish game……overspending becomes the norm.
To me, examples of these wasteful practices are very visible in our local area. If we had a cost conscious, coordinated approach to facility planning I feel the following alternatives might have been chosen in preference to expensive, new construction:
• The Emergency Operations Center; my primary choice would have been to recondition the damaged Sykes Building (for under 1 million) and locate this new function there. My second choice would have been to locate this function in one of the buildings at the old high school. Also, I believe this function should be a function within the Sheriff’s department and not a separate agency. Another possible location could have been the upper floor of the Administration building at the Marianna Airport. Instead, the State EOC grant dictated a separate function with a "NEW" building.
• The new Health Department Building; The existing plan will result in the shell of the Sykes Building being completely demolished (which to me is a waste), and a NEW building built on that site at a cost of approximately $12,000,000. Other considerations could have been to use the old Marianna High School facilities, or to build on the property near the county jail facility where the shells of the old Dozier School dormitories are setting empty and decaying. These are shells of buildings that were soundly built and I believe could have been reconditioned into a beautiful complex of public health facilities in a location more convenient to those who will be using this service most often. It is my understanding the grant specified "NEW" construction. And another empty government owned building will soon exist on 5th Avenue in Marianna.
• The JCARC Building; This one million dollar facility was built after the Marianna High School was vacated. The JCARC is still fragmented around town in satellite buildings. In my opinion the old High School would have created a beautiful, efficient campus for this activity and their nursery operations. Instead, a million dollar building was unnecessarily built with grant money that improved their administrative housing, but did not represent the best use of that funding for the overall needs of the JCARC….and the high school continues to decay.
• The County Administration Building; I have already written repeatedly on this subject. The old Wal-Mart building is still available at a slightly higher price….until the new owners begin to find tenants.
• A Recommended Improvement: I strongly encourage the creation of an Inter-government Facility Planning Committee, comprised of representatives of the County and City Governments, The School System, and private citizens. This group would meet as needed to assist in the overall planning and evaluation of facility requirements and fulfillment options for all public functions in the county. The purpose would be to provide the needed cross communications and negotiations between agencies, to widen the perspective of evaluation of available facility options, and to assist in grant application processes.
At the state level, we should encourage our legislators to introduce actions at the State and Federal level that encourage evaluation and use of reconditioned facilities instead of encouraging the more expensive option of new construction.
Do this and you will be "Getting It Right".
Partial Listing of Empty Public Buildings,
July 14, 2008:
• Sykes Building (Damaged but restorable)
• Old Marianna High School – Numerous Buildings
• Alliance Laundry Complex – Numerous Buildings
• Old Work Camp – Near new EOC facility construction site
• Old Dozier Dorms – Near County Jail
• Upper Floor, Airport FBO Admin Building
• Additionally, there are several large privately owned facilities throughout the county that are empty and could be bought for government use at pricing much lower than the cost of new construction.
Rudiments- Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
• At last week’s City Commission Meeting in Marianna, the Commissioners approved a request to return some $368,000 in grant funds back to the State for reuse on other projects. The funding originally came from a community development block grant from the Office of Tourism and Economic Development for use on roads at the Family Dollar – Oldcastle Precast Concrete industrial area. Due to the faltering economy, bids apparently were lower than initially projected, thus creating the surplus of funds. I highly commend the Commissioners for showing prudent stewardship of public funds by returning this money back to the state for use in other areas on worthwhile projects. This is much better than destroying the bidding process by wastefully spending the money unnecessarily just because they had it in hand. Good work, Commissioners.
• In other action at that same meeting, after research by City Manager Jim Dean, the Commissioners took action that resulted in savings on the city’s insurance costs of over $11,000 per year. Although Commissioner Donofro voted against the change, the other Commissioners felt the savings justified changing carriers. After all, isn’t that the reason bids are taken? Again, an example of good management action taken by the Marianna City Commission.
Note: The opinions expressed in the column are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hatcher Publications.
In my opinion there is an obvious need within our local governments for a system that provides coordinated, inter-governmental, short and long range facility planning. I feel that this shortfall in a vital management function is costing the taxpayers of Florida and our community, millions of dollars in wasted, excessive, and avoidable, government expenditures.
We are in a situation where we are building, are planning to build, or have already built, several new, expensive government buildings while other, government owned facilities sit idle and decaying. I feel that the new Emergency Operations Center, the new Health Department Building, the planned consolidated County Administration Building, and the JCARC building on Pennsylvania Avenue, could all have been housed in existing space at an overall cost that would have been millions of dollars less.
A prudent, profit motivated business would not build new space while it owned other space that was empty. A company would renovate, restructure, and move into facilities at a minimum of cost to the company. Why can our governments not take the same approach?
The first and foremost reason governments do not emphasize costs, is that there is no profit motive, and reducing costs is generally several steps down the management’s scale of importance. Since cost is not a primary factor, many bureaucratic managers feel they would be remiss by not taking advantage of an opportunity to move into a bright, clean, new, (and expensive) building, instead of moving into a reconditioned, older building. After all, it is only tax money, and that MUST be spent. "If we don’t get it….someone else will", is a prevailing misdirected, philosophy.
Another cause is the narrow minded, internally focused system of management used by many segments of government. Too often, each segment tends to take an "isolationist" attitude in regards to its budget, staff, and properties. What belongs to the City is the property of the City, what belongs to the School System is the property of the School System, and what belongs to the County is the property of the County. No one stops to rationalize the fact it all belongs to the citizens, and is all public property. As a result, each entity is struggling with its own needs, and developing its own solutions……with no one looking at the overall picture for the best solution.
Another contributing element is the manner in which most construction projects are funded. The usual source of funds is State or Federal "grants" administered by parent organizational agencies, or various foundations and programs which have been funded by legislative actions. This is true locally in the cases of the new Emergency Operations Center, the new Health Department Building, and the JCARC building. For some seemingly senseless reason, these grants often specify "new construction", and thus remove consideration of less expensive "renovation" projects. I am not sure whether his shortsightedness is caused by the manner in which the grant applications are written…or if it is due to poor administrative procedures by the bureaucracies and bureaucrats that administer these funds. Many of these grants should allow "renovation" as a consideration for facility needs.
And finally, I believe that much of this wasteful and unnecessary spending on facilities by governments and government agencies is caused by a general disregard of the need for wise and prudent stewardship of tax dollars that should exist as a primary responsibility of any governmental decision maker. Everyone often is guilty of "playing the game" to maximize what can be reaped from the State or Federal government for local use. Since everyone simultaneously plays this foolish game……overspending becomes the norm.
To me, examples of these wasteful practices are very visible in our local area. If we had a cost conscious, coordinated approach to facility planning I feel the following alternatives might have been chosen in preference to expensive, new construction:
• The Emergency Operations Center; my primary choice would have been to recondition the damaged Sykes Building (for under 1 million) and locate this new function there. My second choice would have been to locate this function in one of the buildings at the old high school. Also, I believe this function should be a function within the Sheriff’s department and not a separate agency. Another possible location could have been the upper floor of the Administration building at the Marianna Airport. Instead, the State EOC grant dictated a separate function with a "NEW" building.
• The new Health Department Building; The existing plan will result in the shell of the Sykes Building being completely demolished (which to me is a waste), and a NEW building built on that site at a cost of approximately $12,000,000. Other considerations could have been to use the old Marianna High School facilities, or to build on the property near the county jail facility where the shells of the old Dozier School dormitories are setting empty and decaying. These are shells of buildings that were soundly built and I believe could have been reconditioned into a beautiful complex of public health facilities in a location more convenient to those who will be using this service most often. It is my understanding the grant specified "NEW" construction. And another empty government owned building will soon exist on 5th Avenue in Marianna.
• The JCARC Building; This one million dollar facility was built after the Marianna High School was vacated. The JCARC is still fragmented around town in satellite buildings. In my opinion the old High School would have created a beautiful, efficient campus for this activity and their nursery operations. Instead, a million dollar building was unnecessarily built with grant money that improved their administrative housing, but did not represent the best use of that funding for the overall needs of the JCARC….and the high school continues to decay.
• The County Administration Building; I have already written repeatedly on this subject. The old Wal-Mart building is still available at a slightly higher price….until the new owners begin to find tenants.
• A Recommended Improvement: I strongly encourage the creation of an Inter-government Facility Planning Committee, comprised of representatives of the County and City Governments, The School System, and private citizens. This group would meet as needed to assist in the overall planning and evaluation of facility requirements and fulfillment options for all public functions in the county. The purpose would be to provide the needed cross communications and negotiations between agencies, to widen the perspective of evaluation of available facility options, and to assist in grant application processes.
At the state level, we should encourage our legislators to introduce actions at the State and Federal level that encourage evaluation and use of reconditioned facilities instead of encouraging the more expensive option of new construction.
Do this and you will be "Getting It Right".
Partial Listing of Empty Public Buildings,
July 14, 2008:
• Sykes Building (Damaged but restorable)
• Old Marianna High School – Numerous Buildings
• Alliance Laundry Complex – Numerous Buildings
• Old Work Camp – Near new EOC facility construction site
• Old Dozier Dorms – Near County Jail
• Upper Floor, Airport FBO Admin Building
• Additionally, there are several large privately owned facilities throughout the county that are empty and could be bought for government use at pricing much lower than the cost of new construction.
Rudiments- Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
• At last week’s City Commission Meeting in Marianna, the Commissioners approved a request to return some $368,000 in grant funds back to the State for reuse on other projects. The funding originally came from a community development block grant from the Office of Tourism and Economic Development for use on roads at the Family Dollar – Oldcastle Precast Concrete industrial area. Due to the faltering economy, bids apparently were lower than initially projected, thus creating the surplus of funds. I highly commend the Commissioners for showing prudent stewardship of public funds by returning this money back to the state for use in other areas on worthwhile projects. This is much better than destroying the bidding process by wastefully spending the money unnecessarily just because they had it in hand. Good work, Commissioners.
• In other action at that same meeting, after research by City Manager Jim Dean, the Commissioners took action that resulted in savings on the city’s insurance costs of over $11,000 per year. Although Commissioner Donofro voted against the change, the other Commissioners felt the savings justified changing carriers. After all, isn’t that the reason bids are taken? Again, an example of good management action taken by the Marianna City Commission.
Note: The opinions expressed in the column are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hatcher Publications.
Getting It Right- Florida’s Utility Oversight System Is Broken
7/10/08
During the past few days Florida Public Utilities in Marianna announced that they were enacting an 11.1% rate increase, effective July 29. The announcement included an address in Tallahassee where complaints or comments concerning this rate hike could be sent to the Florida Public Service Commission for consideration at their decision making meeting on July 1. The only problem in my instance was that I did not receive this notice until after the meeting was over. This late mailing of the notice might have been a clever technique used by FPU to reduce complaints.
This hefty 11.1% increase comes on the heels of the giant increase of over 40% enacted by this same company in January. That increase was preceded by several other increases that were granted in 2007. The Public Service Commission has conducted public hearings on some of these increases. However, at these sessions they merely sit politely and listen to the ranting of the poor citizens and then go back to Tallahassee, conduct a meeting and pass the requested hike. In my opinion it is all a public sham, and the state oversight system for controlling monopolistic utilities is not working.
The state allows the utilities to maintain a guaranteed, constant percentage of profit of approximately 5%. This means every time they can document a factor that has caused their cost to increase, they can request and obtain a rate increase. Thus, they are very happy when costs are rising, since their dollar profits will also increase. Would you rather receive a guaranteed 5% of $100,000,000 which is $5 million dollars, or 5% of $200,000,000 which is $10 million dollars?
Barring any "creative accounting", Florida Public Utilities will make record profits in 2008 and 2009. This record dollar profitability will come at the expense of their customers at a time when they are facing very serious declining financial conditions.
This is the same terminology game currently being played by the giant oil companies in the face of charges of pricing abuses for gasoline. They state that their percentage mark-up and percentage profits are still at the 4% level they have historically used. However, they are reaping huge amounts of record setting dollar profits since their costs have been increased by 700%. The federal government classifies this as "windfall profits", but that term never seems to be used when the same situation is applied to the utilities.
Why does the Florida Public Service Commission always seem to approve all requests made by the Utilities? Well here are some interesting facts:
• Of 19 former Commissioners, 10 became attorneys, consultants, or lobbyists for the utilities.
• The Commissioners are political appointees selected by the Governor. These are usually nominated by the state political party organizations, which receive hefty political donations from the utilities either directly or through various utility serving associations.
• Thus, the appointments are sometimes "bought" through the political process.
• Because the utilities donate heavily to the political party organizations, their appointees to the Public Service Commission would have a dept of gratitude to repay to the utilities they are regulating.
• Since 1996 Progress Energy has donated at least $512,000, Florida Power and Light $1.5 million, Tampa Electric, $2.4 million, Verizon $950,000, BellSouth $2.5 million, and A T & T $2.6 million. It is probable that Florida Public Utilities was also a member of this group of donors.
• Even Governor Charlie Crist made the statement while he was a candidate that the Commission was a "lap dog" to the utility industry.
• "The utilities appear to have a substantial control over the nominating council and the Public Service Commission", stated Walter Dartland who served on the nominating council for the PSC for many years.
In my opinion, the net result of all of this is that the utilities are able to exploit their monopolistic position and dig at their pleasure into the disposable incomes of the public. That is why Florida Public Utilities is able to implement harsh credit policies and a constant stream of rate increases.
What can the public do about this unfortunate situation? First you can determine the opinion of all of the candidates running for state representative or state senator relating to this situation. The members of the Public Service Commission were elected until 1978, when they were changed to political appointees. I believe the Commissioner positions should be returned to the election process. I feel that the state should be broken into fifteen utility districts, with a Utility Commissioner elected from each. The campaign financing for qualified candidates should be publically financed with all political donations to these candidates deemed to be illegal. Also, a more meaningful and responsive appeals process to contested decisions should be created.
As the system currently is operated, the public has little or no protection from abuses from these monopolistic utilities. The annual budget of the Florida Public Service Commission represents a $30 million dollar per year waste of valuable tax revenues. The oversight system is broken. This issue needs to be of concern to us all, regardless of which utility we have to deal with.
For those of you who are Marianna area residents and are customers of Florida Public Utilities, there is another issue about which I feel you should actively take a position. The franchise with the city for this utility comes up for renewal in 2010. As I understand it, the City Commission will have three options; (1) They can renew the franchise for another extended period, (2) They can open the issue for consideration by other utility companies that could purchase the infrastructure from FPU and assume the franchise, or (3) The city could purchase the infrastructure and operate the utility as a municipal electric utility. It is my opinion that Florida Public Utilities has dealt with its customers in an aggressive, profit driven manner, and the citizens it serves might be happier under another arrangement. In the meantime, just be prepared to continue to dig deeper into your family’s income as they exploit their potential profitability to the maximum.
Get involved if you are unhappy with your utility. It is only through the political processes that this situation will be corrected. Complaining to your utility or to the Public Service Commission is meaningless. Contact your state representative or senator.
RUDAMENTS – ODDS AND ENDS WORTH MENTIONING:
• Another horse in Jackson County, near Grand Ridge, has the bacteria which can lead to West Nile in humans. The Health Department wants us to never go outside at night, always spray with stinky, slimy spray, and drain all standing water from cans, tires, and boats. They conveniently ignore all of those expensive, ugly, and mostly unnecessary pools of water in those EPA regulated retention ponds scattered throughout every town. I would recommend filling in about 70% of those to get rid of our mosquito blight. In their infinite bureaucratic wisdom they have created a public health hazard for you and your family.
• County Manager Ted Lakey, and his Administrative Services Director Pam Pichard have informed me that although one of the proposals for the construction of the proposed County Administration Building was for $18 million, the selected proposal was only for $12 - $14 million. However, this did not include the cost of partitioning and preparing the third floor, nor the engineering, site preparation, and paving of the parking areas. In our front page article last week we used the amount of $18 million as the projected cost.
• Some members of our federal bureaucracy are beginning a movement to reduce the national speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve fuel. To me, this is a federal overreaction and is another example of using the power of what they perceive as a much wiser government to make decisions that should be made by the private individual citizen. If I am in a hurry and am willing to pay for the extra fuel cost for driving 70 MPH that should be my decision…not big brother’s.
• If all that the Marianna City Commission does is make those two small changes to their sign ordinances as a result of all of these meetings and workshops, all I have to say is "thanks for nothing". It is no wonder that so many empty, ugly, cracked store windows fronting Lafayette are seen as one travels through downtown Marianna. Their anti-business attitude is working. Webbville might have made a better county seat.
During the past few days Florida Public Utilities in Marianna announced that they were enacting an 11.1% rate increase, effective July 29. The announcement included an address in Tallahassee where complaints or comments concerning this rate hike could be sent to the Florida Public Service Commission for consideration at their decision making meeting on July 1. The only problem in my instance was that I did not receive this notice until after the meeting was over. This late mailing of the notice might have been a clever technique used by FPU to reduce complaints.
This hefty 11.1% increase comes on the heels of the giant increase of over 40% enacted by this same company in January. That increase was preceded by several other increases that were granted in 2007. The Public Service Commission has conducted public hearings on some of these increases. However, at these sessions they merely sit politely and listen to the ranting of the poor citizens and then go back to Tallahassee, conduct a meeting and pass the requested hike. In my opinion it is all a public sham, and the state oversight system for controlling monopolistic utilities is not working.
The state allows the utilities to maintain a guaranteed, constant percentage of profit of approximately 5%. This means every time they can document a factor that has caused their cost to increase, they can request and obtain a rate increase. Thus, they are very happy when costs are rising, since their dollar profits will also increase. Would you rather receive a guaranteed 5% of $100,000,000 which is $5 million dollars, or 5% of $200,000,000 which is $10 million dollars?
Barring any "creative accounting", Florida Public Utilities will make record profits in 2008 and 2009. This record dollar profitability will come at the expense of their customers at a time when they are facing very serious declining financial conditions.
This is the same terminology game currently being played by the giant oil companies in the face of charges of pricing abuses for gasoline. They state that their percentage mark-up and percentage profits are still at the 4% level they have historically used. However, they are reaping huge amounts of record setting dollar profits since their costs have been increased by 700%. The federal government classifies this as "windfall profits", but that term never seems to be used when the same situation is applied to the utilities.
Why does the Florida Public Service Commission always seem to approve all requests made by the Utilities? Well here are some interesting facts:
• Of 19 former Commissioners, 10 became attorneys, consultants, or lobbyists for the utilities.
• The Commissioners are political appointees selected by the Governor. These are usually nominated by the state political party organizations, which receive hefty political donations from the utilities either directly or through various utility serving associations.
• Thus, the appointments are sometimes "bought" through the political process.
• Because the utilities donate heavily to the political party organizations, their appointees to the Public Service Commission would have a dept of gratitude to repay to the utilities they are regulating.
• Since 1996 Progress Energy has donated at least $512,000, Florida Power and Light $1.5 million, Tampa Electric, $2.4 million, Verizon $950,000, BellSouth $2.5 million, and A T & T $2.6 million. It is probable that Florida Public Utilities was also a member of this group of donors.
• Even Governor Charlie Crist made the statement while he was a candidate that the Commission was a "lap dog" to the utility industry.
• "The utilities appear to have a substantial control over the nominating council and the Public Service Commission", stated Walter Dartland who served on the nominating council for the PSC for many years.
In my opinion, the net result of all of this is that the utilities are able to exploit their monopolistic position and dig at their pleasure into the disposable incomes of the public. That is why Florida Public Utilities is able to implement harsh credit policies and a constant stream of rate increases.
What can the public do about this unfortunate situation? First you can determine the opinion of all of the candidates running for state representative or state senator relating to this situation. The members of the Public Service Commission were elected until 1978, when they were changed to political appointees. I believe the Commissioner positions should be returned to the election process. I feel that the state should be broken into fifteen utility districts, with a Utility Commissioner elected from each. The campaign financing for qualified candidates should be publically financed with all political donations to these candidates deemed to be illegal. Also, a more meaningful and responsive appeals process to contested decisions should be created.
As the system currently is operated, the public has little or no protection from abuses from these monopolistic utilities. The annual budget of the Florida Public Service Commission represents a $30 million dollar per year waste of valuable tax revenues. The oversight system is broken. This issue needs to be of concern to us all, regardless of which utility we have to deal with.
For those of you who are Marianna area residents and are customers of Florida Public Utilities, there is another issue about which I feel you should actively take a position. The franchise with the city for this utility comes up for renewal in 2010. As I understand it, the City Commission will have three options; (1) They can renew the franchise for another extended period, (2) They can open the issue for consideration by other utility companies that could purchase the infrastructure from FPU and assume the franchise, or (3) The city could purchase the infrastructure and operate the utility as a municipal electric utility. It is my opinion that Florida Public Utilities has dealt with its customers in an aggressive, profit driven manner, and the citizens it serves might be happier under another arrangement. In the meantime, just be prepared to continue to dig deeper into your family’s income as they exploit their potential profitability to the maximum.
Get involved if you are unhappy with your utility. It is only through the political processes that this situation will be corrected. Complaining to your utility or to the Public Service Commission is meaningless. Contact your state representative or senator.
RUDAMENTS – ODDS AND ENDS WORTH MENTIONING:
• Another horse in Jackson County, near Grand Ridge, has the bacteria which can lead to West Nile in humans. The Health Department wants us to never go outside at night, always spray with stinky, slimy spray, and drain all standing water from cans, tires, and boats. They conveniently ignore all of those expensive, ugly, and mostly unnecessary pools of water in those EPA regulated retention ponds scattered throughout every town. I would recommend filling in about 70% of those to get rid of our mosquito blight. In their infinite bureaucratic wisdom they have created a public health hazard for you and your family.
• County Manager Ted Lakey, and his Administrative Services Director Pam Pichard have informed me that although one of the proposals for the construction of the proposed County Administration Building was for $18 million, the selected proposal was only for $12 - $14 million. However, this did not include the cost of partitioning and preparing the third floor, nor the engineering, site preparation, and paving of the parking areas. In our front page article last week we used the amount of $18 million as the projected cost.
• Some members of our federal bureaucracy are beginning a movement to reduce the national speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve fuel. To me, this is a federal overreaction and is another example of using the power of what they perceive as a much wiser government to make decisions that should be made by the private individual citizen. If I am in a hurry and am willing to pay for the extra fuel cost for driving 70 MPH that should be my decision…not big brother’s.
• If all that the Marianna City Commission does is make those two small changes to their sign ordinances as a result of all of these meetings and workshops, all I have to say is "thanks for nothing". It is no wonder that so many empty, ugly, cracked store windows fronting Lafayette are seen as one travels through downtown Marianna. Their anti-business attitude is working. Webbville might have made a better county seat.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Getting It Right- Your Constitutional Rights Are Under Attack
7/3/08
This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
So you think that our constitution provides protection to you for your basic liberties and rights. If you believe that, then I have some ocean front property in Kentucky I would like to sell you.
It is true that the intent of our founding fathers when they pinned the constitution and Bill of Rights was to insure that these basic liberties and rights were documented firmly as the basis of our laws. If those founding authors could only read some of the politically motivated
interpretations and distortions of those original documents that have since been generated by our illustrious Supreme Court Justices during the 232 years that have transpired….they would be mortified and astonished.
An outstanding example of the impact of special interests and political pressures of the day on the interpretation of these basic building stones of our Democracy is the unbelievable growth in size and powers of our Federal Government in comparison to that of our State Governments. In 1776 as our new Democracy was being shaped, there was tremendous fear of the dangers that might come from creation of a powerful central government.
Before the creation of our Federal Government, the new lands of America were comprised of self governing colonies, led by Governors appointed by the rulers in England. After the Revolutionary War was won, the leaders of the colonies were very cautious about yielding any jurisdiction over their lives to a central federal government. Preservation of "States Rights" was the primary concern of the time for the Republicans of that day. Led by Thomas Jefferson, they felt the only role of the Federal government should be jurisdiction over tariffs, international trade, and protection of national territorial rights.
Their opposing group, which was led by John Adams, was called Federalist, and supported a stronger central government with less rights left to the States. Thomas Jefferson’s lifelong friend but political opponent, John Adams was in favor of a stronger central government.
So the Constitution and the Bill of Rights initially provided safeguards designed to protect the powers of the States, and restrict the power and growth of the Federal Government. With those in place, look at how those intentions have been circumvented through the years to enable our governmental structure to evolve into the "giant Washington fiasco" we have today. Noble words of the past have little impact before the political pressures and perceived needs of the moment.
That condition is what makes careful consideration and public knowledge of the potential impact that will result from changes in the philosophical structure of our Supreme Court the most critical element of our governmental processes. Our next President may select and nominate as many as four Supreme Court Justices during his term of office. The legacy that those selections represent could change the course of our nation for decades to come. If an imbalanced, ultra-liberal court is created, the impact on our society, our economic processes, our international standing, and national legal systems could be huge. It may constitute "change" which endangers the basic foundations of our nation.
One of our most basic, assumed 2nd amendment rights was almost taken from us last week. By a narrow 5-4 vote this court upheld your right to own a gun for the protection of your family and property. The anti-gun interest had attempted to instill an interpretation that the "right to bear arms" specified clearly in the 2nd Amendment which is part of the "Bill of Rights", was referring to militias and not individuals.
These anti-gun advocates would rather have us live under a system where we were defenseless and totally at the mercy of the armed criminals who might invade our homes and properties. We would expect "big brother" to always protect us, since we are perceived as being incapable of protecting ourselves. After all, we have not been certified by a bureaucrat as having the necessary documented licenses and abilities to use a gun in our defense.
What would really happen is that the "protector police" would brag about their twelve minute response time to the scene, which means that you and your family would probably have been dead for only eight minutes before they got there. They would then conduct a precise investigation, possibly arrest the villain, and after spending a couple of million dollars in tax monies for legal proceedings would convict him to a long prison term, which would later be cut to only a few years by some liberal Judge, and finally a liberal parole board would give him early release. I would rather have the right to deal with the situation myself on my own property, at the instant it occurs. Last week we came within one vote of losing that important right.
Through legislative actions and judicial interpretations many of our basic property and personal rights have already been seriously eroded or eliminated. We should all be very, very protective of the rights and liberties we still have. Stay on guard and get involved any time these rights are threatened. Do this and you will be Getting It Right. "Happy 4th of July!"
RUDAMENTS- Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
#1. The possibility of a privately funded toll road coming through Jackson County that would link Montgomery and Dothan to I-10 and the coastal areas has aroused much uproar from misinformed property owners in the Cottondale area. Rampant rumors have spread about the abuse of land owners through the use of "eminent domain" to force the road through the area. Personally, I too would voice loud opposition if any single land owner is forced to sell their land in any manner. Since this is not a federal or state project, the issue of eminent domain will remain at the local level for decision making.
However, if a route can be found that allows a path for the road with all involved land owners being willing and happy sellers, then I think there would be many very worthwhile benefits to all of the citizens of our county if the road came through Jackson County instead of another county. The development that would occur at the interchanges from this road would create industrial parks, job producing new businesses for our future generations, and the taxes they would pay would add significant revenues to our county government and our school systems. This would result in less growth in taxes for all property owners. For example, Family Dollar is already paying over $700,000 per year in taxes to the county and is the largest taxpayer in the county. This road could bring in other similar businesses. This same vocal group of land owners would probably also be the loudest complainers if our property taxes jumped upward.
For those Cottondale property owners that do not want to sell, I think they should merely put a "Not for Sale" sign on their land and keep their mouth shut while the overall situation is evaluated. Ill informed, irrational, and inconsiderate behavior demeans us all.
#2. Marianna’s electric utility, Florida Public Utilities, has sent out notices of another upcoming rate increase for its customers. This time the increase will be 11.1%, which will translate to approximately $15-$20 per week for the average household, or $180 to $240 per year. This comes on the heels of the huge 40% increase they received in January.
What can the average struggling citizen do about this situation? There are two actions we can take that might have some impact on the future costs and increases we will have to endure. First, we can all urge our State representatives to restore the practice of electing the representatives of the Public Service Commission. The state should be made into seven utility districts and a member of the commission elected from each district. Second, we can encourage the City of Marianna to actively begin investigating the city’s options when the FPU franchise comes up for renewal in 2010. They need to start now.
This column presents a non-partisan, conservative viewpoint about items of interest in our community and our lives. Focus is on items impacting your pocket book, your personal freedoms, and your rights. I hope you will read the column regularly and it occasionally influences your opinions and actions. Now, on to the subject of the week:
So you think that our constitution provides protection to you for your basic liberties and rights. If you believe that, then I have some ocean front property in Kentucky I would like to sell you.
It is true that the intent of our founding fathers when they pinned the constitution and Bill of Rights was to insure that these basic liberties and rights were documented firmly as the basis of our laws. If those founding authors could only read some of the politically motivated
interpretations and distortions of those original documents that have since been generated by our illustrious Supreme Court Justices during the 232 years that have transpired….they would be mortified and astonished.
An outstanding example of the impact of special interests and political pressures of the day on the interpretation of these basic building stones of our Democracy is the unbelievable growth in size and powers of our Federal Government in comparison to that of our State Governments. In 1776 as our new Democracy was being shaped, there was tremendous fear of the dangers that might come from creation of a powerful central government.
Before the creation of our Federal Government, the new lands of America were comprised of self governing colonies, led by Governors appointed by the rulers in England. After the Revolutionary War was won, the leaders of the colonies were very cautious about yielding any jurisdiction over their lives to a central federal government. Preservation of "States Rights" was the primary concern of the time for the Republicans of that day. Led by Thomas Jefferson, they felt the only role of the Federal government should be jurisdiction over tariffs, international trade, and protection of national territorial rights.
Their opposing group, which was led by John Adams, was called Federalist, and supported a stronger central government with less rights left to the States. Thomas Jefferson’s lifelong friend but political opponent, John Adams was in favor of a stronger central government.
So the Constitution and the Bill of Rights initially provided safeguards designed to protect the powers of the States, and restrict the power and growth of the Federal Government. With those in place, look at how those intentions have been circumvented through the years to enable our governmental structure to evolve into the "giant Washington fiasco" we have today. Noble words of the past have little impact before the political pressures and perceived needs of the moment.
That condition is what makes careful consideration and public knowledge of the potential impact that will result from changes in the philosophical structure of our Supreme Court the most critical element of our governmental processes. Our next President may select and nominate as many as four Supreme Court Justices during his term of office. The legacy that those selections represent could change the course of our nation for decades to come. If an imbalanced, ultra-liberal court is created, the impact on our society, our economic processes, our international standing, and national legal systems could be huge. It may constitute "change" which endangers the basic foundations of our nation.
One of our most basic, assumed 2nd amendment rights was almost taken from us last week. By a narrow 5-4 vote this court upheld your right to own a gun for the protection of your family and property. The anti-gun interest had attempted to instill an interpretation that the "right to bear arms" specified clearly in the 2nd Amendment which is part of the "Bill of Rights", was referring to militias and not individuals.
These anti-gun advocates would rather have us live under a system where we were defenseless and totally at the mercy of the armed criminals who might invade our homes and properties. We would expect "big brother" to always protect us, since we are perceived as being incapable of protecting ourselves. After all, we have not been certified by a bureaucrat as having the necessary documented licenses and abilities to use a gun in our defense.
What would really happen is that the "protector police" would brag about their twelve minute response time to the scene, which means that you and your family would probably have been dead for only eight minutes before they got there. They would then conduct a precise investigation, possibly arrest the villain, and after spending a couple of million dollars in tax monies for legal proceedings would convict him to a long prison term, which would later be cut to only a few years by some liberal Judge, and finally a liberal parole board would give him early release. I would rather have the right to deal with the situation myself on my own property, at the instant it occurs. Last week we came within one vote of losing that important right.
Through legislative actions and judicial interpretations many of our basic property and personal rights have already been seriously eroded or eliminated. We should all be very, very protective of the rights and liberties we still have. Stay on guard and get involved any time these rights are threatened. Do this and you will be Getting It Right. "Happy 4th of July!"
RUDAMENTS- Odds and Ends Worth Mentioning:
#1. The possibility of a privately funded toll road coming through Jackson County that would link Montgomery and Dothan to I-10 and the coastal areas has aroused much uproar from misinformed property owners in the Cottondale area. Rampant rumors have spread about the abuse of land owners through the use of "eminent domain" to force the road through the area. Personally, I too would voice loud opposition if any single land owner is forced to sell their land in any manner. Since this is not a federal or state project, the issue of eminent domain will remain at the local level for decision making.
However, if a route can be found that allows a path for the road with all involved land owners being willing and happy sellers, then I think there would be many very worthwhile benefits to all of the citizens of our county if the road came through Jackson County instead of another county. The development that would occur at the interchanges from this road would create industrial parks, job producing new businesses for our future generations, and the taxes they would pay would add significant revenues to our county government and our school systems. This would result in less growth in taxes for all property owners. For example, Family Dollar is already paying over $700,000 per year in taxes to the county and is the largest taxpayer in the county. This road could bring in other similar businesses. This same vocal group of land owners would probably also be the loudest complainers if our property taxes jumped upward.
For those Cottondale property owners that do not want to sell, I think they should merely put a "Not for Sale" sign on their land and keep their mouth shut while the overall situation is evaluated. Ill informed, irrational, and inconsiderate behavior demeans us all.
#2. Marianna’s electric utility, Florida Public Utilities, has sent out notices of another upcoming rate increase for its customers. This time the increase will be 11.1%, which will translate to approximately $15-$20 per week for the average household, or $180 to $240 per year. This comes on the heels of the huge 40% increase they received in January.
What can the average struggling citizen do about this situation? There are two actions we can take that might have some impact on the future costs and increases we will have to endure. First, we can all urge our State representatives to restore the practice of electing the representatives of the Public Service Commission. The state should be made into seven utility districts and a member of the commission elected from each district. Second, we can encourage the City of Marianna to actively begin investigating the city’s options when the FPU franchise comes up for renewal in 2010. They need to start now.
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