If you've come late to this ugly story of deceit, let me bring you up to date. - Michael LewisI really like this editorial by Michael Lewis Editor of "Miami Today." It is a good primer on the history of the transit tax but also it is critical of the broken promises to voters. To sum up, Lewis says:
"Commissioner Gimenez is taking the high road, putting public trust ahead of expedience. Instead of remaining silent about a disgraceful wrong that the commission admits but won't remedy, he's keeping faith with the public." And:
"If we let commissioners con us again by saying they need the tax for uses that were expressly barred, we're not only accepting an ongoing wrong but rewarding commissioners at the polls for committing it."
"Finally, when Mr. Gimenez tried to let voters decide whether to keep paying a tax that the commission had immediately subverted, County Manager George Burgess issued a remarkable document.
He said in essence that the county can't get by without using the hijacked money for purposes that were expressly barred in the 2002 vote.
And he admitted that it was "totally and completely unrealistic for anyone to have ever thought" that tax receipts could ever have done all that the county promised voters.
Promise 'em anything to get the cash. That was the plan. The defense Mr. Burgess offers is, "The transit tax was certainly over-promised, but not mismanaged." Some defense!"
3 comments:
oh,no, another old, addled egg head willing to vote for anything
maybe folks over 50 should only get half a vote
Give it a rest.
Last anon must be a transit junky, that neither hears or sees any evil in what the County has done. Willing to vote for anything?? Yes, I am willing to vote in manner that holds the County's collective feet to the fire on this one. They lied, pure and simple, and that simply cannot stand. So, go back to the 29th floor, and start sharpening your pencils!
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