Yesterday, Gov. Rick Scott's public relations gambit -- to lower the water tax paid by all South Floridians -- failed a vote by his hand-picked governing board which has endured the pressure of constant budget demands to keep water clean and affordable.
The point is that Florida's outstanding waters and Everglades are filthy. Not as filthy perhaps as waters are in Asia, but so filthy that Floridians are catching rare diseases and fish are dying and the Everglades are failing. No amount of public relations trumpery can change the facts: this governor has disastrously performed at the critical inflection point in the struggle to balance water demand and water supply. In recent years, with drought conditions peaking only a few months after flood warnings, it has become clear how and why Florida's water supply has turned "inelastic"; an economic term applied to the one commodity people can't live without. Fresh, clean water.
Public interest attorney Richard Grosso put it well on Facebook, "Its incredible how little we pay in taxes to the agency that supplies all of our water and drainage and is trying to restore the Everglades. Seventy seven dollars a year per household of $250,000 - its absurd that we have to fight to keep that, and wont raise it by say 20-25% to actually restore the Everglades and modernize our water management system before its too late. That the political weight of such a small amount of "lower taxes" so easily trumps the value of what could be accomplished with that money is irresponsible and ridiculous."
Grosso adds, "That we are basically choosing not to restore the Everglades fully or soon enough in the name of "lower taxes" is absurd given how much money just a small increase would generate given how great size of the SFWMD's tax base." It would take a pittance from taxpayers to fix the Everglades and the state's water quality woes. The problem is that the special interests who dominate Tallahassee and the state legislature make tons of money the other way: through destruction.
The Everglades and water quality in Florida are not essentials for Gov. Scott and his shadow government: they are political problems that need to be solved to the maximal profit of the status quo. It is the same phenomenon as solar energy being shut down in the Sunshine State.
When future economic growth and diversification of the economy has been sacrificed to entrenched business models that demonstrably fail taxpayers, it is time to change the politicians.
Somehow, yesterday, even Scott's hand-picked governing board pushed back against the most irresponsible governor in modern history. Small consolation to missions so clearly not accomplished.
The point is that Florida's outstanding waters and Everglades are filthy. Not as filthy perhaps as waters are in Asia, but so filthy that Floridians are catching rare diseases and fish are dying and the Everglades are failing. No amount of public relations trumpery can change the facts: this governor has disastrously performed at the critical inflection point in the struggle to balance water demand and water supply. In recent years, with drought conditions peaking only a few months after flood warnings, it has become clear how and why Florida's water supply has turned "inelastic"; an economic term applied to the one commodity people can't live without. Fresh, clean water.
Public interest attorney Richard Grosso put it well on Facebook, "Its incredible how little we pay in taxes to the agency that supplies all of our water and drainage and is trying to restore the Everglades. Seventy seven dollars a year per household of $250,000 - its absurd that we have to fight to keep that, and wont raise it by say 20-25% to actually restore the Everglades and modernize our water management system before its too late. That the political weight of such a small amount of "lower taxes" so easily trumps the value of what could be accomplished with that money is irresponsible and ridiculous."
Grosso adds, "That we are basically choosing not to restore the Everglades fully or soon enough in the name of "lower taxes" is absurd given how much money just a small increase would generate given how great size of the SFWMD's tax base." It would take a pittance from taxpayers to fix the Everglades and the state's water quality woes. The problem is that the special interests who dominate Tallahassee and the state legislature make tons of money the other way: through destruction.
The Everglades and water quality in Florida are not essentials for Gov. Scott and his shadow government: they are political problems that need to be solved to the maximal profit of the status quo. It is the same phenomenon as solar energy being shut down in the Sunshine State.
When future economic growth and diversification of the economy has been sacrificed to entrenched business models that demonstrably fail taxpayers, it is time to change the politicians.
Somehow, yesterday, even Scott's hand-picked governing board pushed back against the most irresponsible governor in modern history. Small consolation to missions so clearly not accomplished.
3 comments:
Climate change will be used by Washington lobbyists for new public works projects. Dams, sea walls, electric plants, beach erosion control, elevating roads in Miami Beach, and water plants. My construction companies will profit nicely while the public (federal tax money) takes care of the bills. You won't hear the term conservation in Congress, becasue my buddies on K Street have enstructed everybody not to use the "C" word. Stay thirsty, my friends.
The GOP IS THE PARTY OF ECONOMIC SCARCITY because scarcity creates more concentrated pools of consumers for opportunistic feeding.
On Wednesday at Matheson Hammock, the wading pool was closed because it had a strange coloration and fish, including small barracuda, were up at the surface gasping for breath. The Herald led today with an article about severe drought and a lack of freshwater coming into Biscayne Bay. Could this be evidence of that?
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