No suprise in this insight: there's a big difference between Norman Braman and people who are also outraged that local elected leaders could sign-off on Mayor Manny Diaz' multi-billion dollar full employment act for lobbyists and attorneys.Money.
The Miami Herald reports that Braman is spending his own money to buy ad time on radio to counter the vote scheduled for Thursday, that would seal the county-end of the deal for a new professional baseball stadium, museum park, PAC bail-out, tunnel etc etc. He's done it before. He says he will spend whatever it takes. Thank you!
But I have advice for Mr. Braman and other wealthy philanthropists: these one-off campaigns are futile. If you have money to spend and are ready to do "whatever it takes", you should support a significant effort to reform the underlying politics in Miami.
Mr. Braman and other wealthy patrons: invest in building a political campaign infrastructure in districts to run local candidates who represent the public interest.
Given the scandals, the fraud, the mismanagement of the public trust, very few incumbents are safe.
But it takes money, that philanthropists have, and it takes organization on the ground, a skill set that exists but is vastly underfunded. My guess is that building the campaign infrastructure would cost $1 million, to include Miami and Miami-Dade County. Putting the infrastructure in motion, to reform the city and county commission would probably cost another $2 million.
It is an extraordinarily small amount of money, given the operating budgets of the city and county-- about $10 billion combined. Put another way, investing a fraction of a cent could direct the spending of a public dollar toward the public interest.
Because Miami's philanthropists care more about having their photos published on the society page, or supporting benign causes that don't irritate the status quo, ours is a marginal city.
Some people say we are a banana republic, because of demographics that point in the direction of poverty and immigration. I'd say, if we are a banana republic, it is because the people with means have not invested in Miami to counter the fraud, the gimmicks, and the domination of the public interest by carpet-baggers and pretenders.
"It's like this, everywhere," I am told. No, in fact it is not. Here, the wealthy give to medical centers, hospitals, and benign institutions while the public interest has shriveled to the size of a walnut.
Who can argue, otherwise?
16 comments:
I like the way you have been doing an awesome job ! This is really cool !
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Gimleteye. I hope Mr. Braman reads this post and acts accordingly.
I like the way you are writing .. but whats the difference between the common man and a barman .
This new deal is being sold as the way to bring Downtown back to life.
I don't see how any of the things they are talking about is going to do much for our blighted downtown area. Specially the new stadium, the last I remember the Orange Bowl was not Downtown.
No one that I know has ever referred to Miami as a banana republic because of its ethnic/racial composition. It has to do with corruption as the way of doing business. There is indeed a connection between impoverished third world countries and corruption.
Why do so many wealthy Miamians donate to hospitals and other prominent institutions? How many of them have business interests that can benefit from the relationship?
I apologize for my cynicism in advance.
It will never happen. Miami's so called business leaders lack any balls to do anything and would rather write a check and get the lobbyists and politicos off their asses than actually take the lead on anything.
There is too chummy a relationship between the "civic leadership" and the political structure and the county has too many fingers in too many pies, thus business leaders will never do anything other than token efforts here and there...
All these folks throw around the "world class city crap" as in, "we cant have a world class city unless we have a :
museum
stadium
performing arts center
tunnel
etc...
Well, I say we wont have a world class city until our business leadership gets off their asses and challenges the powers that be...again, it will never happen, someone has to approve UDB boundary changes for them. Sad, really....
Norman Braman is correct.
The deal stinks.
There are mmany bad aspects to the "Interlocal" agreement.
The Marlins pay $155 Mil upfront and then they get free rent for 30 years?
The Marlins do not have to pay for the $200 Mil parking garage yet they covet the parking revenues?
The Marlins want all the revenues from the skyboxes and from the concessions and they want to pay essentially nothing towards the contruction? Prepaying their rent hardly counts.
And the $200 Mil fixed rail streetcar to nowhere? We all know it will cost $300 Mil. And still go nowhere.
Many questions.
It is too bad that our elected leaders are not protecting our community and its future as gallantly as Mr. Braman.
It is a shame that our citizens have to constantly do battle with our own city and county governments in order to recived justice.
It is a disgrace that our citizens have to invest so much time, energy and money into stopping our own government from mismanaging our community.
I applaud Mr. Braman for his dedication and passion.
We could sure use more folks like him in the battle and especially in our government.
good post Gimleteye...much needed.
Braman never hesitates to spend his money…….to protect his money.
He's focusing on the ballpark because it's the easiest target for Braman’s style of demagoguery. But his real target is the streetcar as he continues his long tradition of opposing anything that might give people an opportunity to use transit instead of piggish cars. True, people who buy his $200,000 cars won’t be wooed away by the streetcar. But Norman is a consistent and rabid true-believer.
Braman does seem to hate waste.
And who is in favor of a fixed rail streetcar intended for a route with no residents and few workers? A $300 Mil project only a lobbyist could love. Another screwing of the Miami taxpayers.
Who can justify bailing out the County for its failed $525 Mil PAC performing Arts Center? It is dark and empty most nights costing the taxpayers $50,000 per day.
Good for Braman for fighting the taxpayer funded corporate welfare project called the Florida Marlins. Who did they pay off?
The next vote is about the stadium funding and nothing else in the city\county agreement.
For those who have been paying attention, the marlins stadium deal has been voted on about a dozen times by the commission with only sorensen voting against it every time.
do you think that's going to change because a rich guy puts some commercials on the radio? you may see a couple extra no votes this time because the deal has changed and the marlins are contributing less over time than the last deal the commission approved. it will be interesting to see if any of the others get week in the knees over the backlash of one wealthy car dealer.
as to everyone crying about the rest of the deal, you can't have it both ways. you can't moan that we don't have jobs downtown, that we don't have housing downtown, and then complain that we shouldn't build transit there because it won't "go anywhere" and you really can't keep pushing to hold the urban boundary if you fight condos in the downtown core.
we need the other commitments for affordable housing and better urban planning to be upheld along with these bigger projects and each should be dealt with on their merits. i don't like the ball stadium because mlb is a super-rich monopoly. i hope braman's cause celeb gets a couple other commissioners to at least take pause. nearly half of the cost of the tunnel is coming out of state gas tax funds so finally the rest of florida makes an investment in our county. it is the rest of the funding mix that worries me. otherwise the idea is a good one for the revitalization of downtown. i don't think the city is contributing nearly enough to any of these projects (and too much to the stadium) but part of this is the art of compromise. not everything is a conspiracy.
Let me just ask this. why doesn't mr brahman put his money into the democratic process and help everyone elect better offcials to run the county. instead he sits in his perch and throws his money around to control the outcome of a plan put together by those we do elect. the problem is lazy attitudes within in the voting public. Mr Brahman controling the outcome with his money is no better.
Bravo reality check. I couldn't have said it any better myself.
Finally, a hero comes along!
The sad thing is that the politicans will sell out for a small amount of illegal cash, $50,000 each (Spense-Jones case),and we are left with all these billion dollar white elephants to get built.
Braman is no hero, he simply hates the idea of mass transit. Braman attitude is always F... the poor. He is a registared Republican and an avid fundraiser for conservative causes. He is elitist, look at the crapy art he collects. He opposed Metrorail and now opposes the street car, it really nothing more than that, remember he also sells Hondas.
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