We're all having to cut back. Here's how I would spend $600 million of tourism-based tax dollars: first, I'd lobby the Florida legislature to expand the definition of projects that can received funding from tourism tax dollars. Look: we've pretty much destroyed the natural attractions of the state of Florida that lured so many millions of people to the state in the first place. Isn't it time we invested in neighborhoods in urban areas to improve our quality of life, to build and fund parks where parks don't exist? How about community "Victory" gardens? Have you noticed how you are spending the same amount in grocery stores for food, that keeps coming in smaller and smaller packages? The time for Miamians to be growing our own food is NOW.
And who could use Victory Gardens more than the poor people in Michelle Spence Jones' district? I don't blame the city commissioner at all, for wanting as much for her district as the Marlins want to take out of the public pockets, for their shareholders. And I hope she doesn't cut a deal.
The same principles of fairness and equity should have been applied to the Performing Arsht Center: local communities should have received, dollar for dollar, funding for school programs for the arts as went into concrete there.
Misplaced public priorities have cost Floridians dearly, lining the pockets of private corporations/ campaign contributors and their teams of lobbyists. (Parcel B, anyone?) Maybe, what we are seeing with the obstruction of a new professional baseball stadium is a public acknowledgment of economic reality. And maybe it is time for cart to stop driving the horses, and for the needs of taxpayers to be better represented by public investments in our quality of life and the public commons.
12 comments:
Beautifully said
I don't want to grow my own food.
If we only had a dollar's worth of park space or school arts program for every dollar they've pumped into concrete ...
Y'know, they used to say that the Soviets were absolutely in love with concrete. No love for state-sponsored socialism, but the Reds don't hold a candle to the Latin Builders Association and the Miami-Dade County Commission when it comes to concrete!
While the rest of the country is in the freezer, we are living in absolute luxury! Walking trails, bike paths, mini-parks, gardens, regular parks all showcase our unique habitat and our wonderful tropical environment. Pull enough of them together and tour packages can be pulled together to lure people here from all around the world! Imagine a month long tour hitting places around the state. . .
The miami beach convention center is not competitive. It is considered a boutique convention center. It needs to be upgraded. It fills hotel rooms so it is a perfect fit for the use of bed tax money. Also, each booking brings tons of money to Miami. That is what we should be doing with the bed tax funds.
Maybe it needs to continue doing what it does, and we need to create another entity to actually expand the pie. We could probably double our volume with some out-of-the box thinking. There are tremendous tourism opportunities here that no one is paying attention to. When you travel around the world, you realize what wonderful potentials we have, yet no one is even paying attention. But I guess one has to be able to see. . .
Oh, God! It's "the price you pay for living in paradise" brigade ...
"Don't complain about corruption, malfeasance or waste of taxpayer dollars, just think of how cold they are up Detroit or Boston and put up with whatever they throw at you because, hey, this is paradise!"
Tourism and convention business is wonderful, but it does not an integral, developed economy make. Let put some tax dollars into education and develop a well-educated, 21st century workforce for Miami ... not just a bunch of real-estate brokers, camareras, tour guides and wait staff who end up out of work everytime our unevenly developed local economy goes into a tailspin.
Any body ever think of the economic engine we have in poor, neglected agriculture? It's dying from a thousand Parkland cuts. Wake up, it is the future; for the economy, for tourism, for food, landscape and fuel, for the environment, for quality of life, for a watershed and for a winter wonderland of green. But concrete is more appealing to our commissioners.
Tourism is South Florida's economic engine. Tourism employes people 12 months a year, 7 days a week 24 hours a day. Hotels, restaurants, retail, cruise ship operators...
Why would anyone want to divert $2 billion in tax money meant to promote and improve tourism and use the $2 billion to bailout the private out-of-town owner of a private company?
I believe Dr. Dunn already has a community garden going in Overtown. Also, there are some workshops coming up in the West Grove on personal and community gardens. I think there's a post about it in Grapevine.
Why is this not being persued by the city/county?
http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/090305/story1.shtml
The taxpayers cannot afford the Marlins deal. The taxpayers are giving up too much for too little. Just so everyone remembers the Marlins have a home. Dolphin Stadium. Dolphin Stadium is accessible to three Counties.
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