Citizens taking responsibility at local level

In this year of lean revenues and tight budgets, I believe that there is a glimmer of hope. That is the reclaiming of responsibility by the citizens at the local level.

Over the course of the past 70 years, we have witnessed the slow erosion of local control of politics. We began to be seduced by the notion that government could provide us with salvation from problems, beginning with the Great Depression.

Although that global trauma could only have been resolved by the federal government for a variety of reasons, the success of that effort (owed in no small part to World War II) began to mesmerize us into thinking that "government knows best."

Over the intervening years we relied increasingly on Uncle Sam and state capitols to resolve the many problems confronting society.

Although, due to the complexity of the issues, the concept was valid; the implementation of the corrections, by edict from Washington, often was not. Caught up in this process were issues far better addressed by local citizens.

In what may be the budding of a trend, 10 Florida counties have passed referendums to fund their school systems. This is returning control of the purse strings and responsibility for community to the local citizenry. That is a glimmer of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. It also helps dispel the fog of disenfranchisement that seems to be rampant throughout America.

The Scrooge-like Florida Legislature, in its quest to "live within our means," may have inadvertently spawned an era where local citizens begin to realize that all too often, government does not know best. Although there are many problems which only federal and state governments can and should resolve, there are just as many that should and must be resolved by citizens taking responsibility for their communities and themselves.

In the big picture, I don't think that this is a bad thing.

Citizenship's responsibilities

If we want a Legislature competent enough to pass a budget, then we will have to stop prostituting Florida. Realtors representing Florida developers sell prospective retirees in Northern states on Florida as the land of sunshine without the responsibilities of citizenship.

Like most states, my home state has a $5,000 homestead exemption, while Florida gives away $25,000 exemptions. While my birthplace has a 14-cent sales tax, my Florida county has only a 6-cent tax. Florida has a $10-million cap on property taxes, a tax break unheard of anywhere else. While most other states double or triple sales taxes on luxury items by levying a luxury tax, Florida exempts such luxuries from any sales tax at all. In effect, Florida has a "negative luxury tax" for the rich.

We need to stop "playing citizen" by engaging in citizenship without responsibility. We must stop practicing cheap patriotism and see true patriotism as more than festooning our city streets with enough American flags to cheapen our national symbol and to make our cities look tacky.

We can do better than that. We can be responsible patriots and citizens. We can accept responsibility for the cost of the governance of our communities, our state and our nation; and we can demand responsible leadership from those whom we have elected to serve us.

Unworthy representatives

The Florida Legislature has disgraced itself and the state of Florida. It has wasted the taxpayers' money by being recalled into a special session to do work it should have accomplished during the normal session. It is not going to fund our schools adequately and continues to undermine public education. It is trying to ruin our Everglades. It represents the telephone company, sugar growers, polluters and corporate interests at the expense of working Floridians.

What good has this Legislature done for any working person or student in our state? We should have an immediate recall and new election. These legislators do not deserve to represent us.

Signs pointed to Gov. Bush's flaws

Letters sent in that were published in the May 18 opinion section would indicate that many of the Florida voters are not too happy with Gov. Bush. Well, they wanted him, they voted for him, and now they have him. So what's their complaint? Do they feel that they were hoodwinked?

Although I tend to agree with the letter writers, the public had all of the signs to what Jeb Bush was all about but elected him anyway. Shame, shame on them.

When you have a governor tell you straight out that he thinks it is a good idea to pump treated sewage water into the aquifer, does one need to go any further to realize he is not qualified to run the state government, let alone the federal government?

The voters have not been fooled

Re: Freeze fees? Puh-lease! May 17.

Now you know how the tax cuts will be paid for. As less money flows to the states from the U.S. Treasury, we are seeing the result: first, cuts to programs; then county "fee" increases; now, massive state "fee" increases, which are easy to propose by the politicians who don't have the guts to say "tax increase."

The 2001 tax cut lowered taxes by a few hundred dollars for many, but by many thousands of dollars for a few. Remember the old carrot-on-a-string trick? This tax cut will be paid for as those who "saved" a few hundred will end up lucky to break even. The politicians are hoping you just look at your tax forms and not realize the cost of the local and state "fee" increases.

And it's not over. President Bush wants to give millions more to subsidize his wealthy constituents, and Gov. Bush wants to do his part by giving away millions. Once again, the carrot will be thrown out to the middle class only to be pulled away later.

As the money is not there to pay for these massive giveaways, "fee" increases will again be the easy way out for our gutless politicians.

Are you still fooled by these tax "cuts" or fooled by the spin that it's the voters' fault for passing the class-size amendment? If not, let the politicians know that you'll remember this flimflam next Election Day.

State problem, state solution

Re: Who will save the Pacific Northwest? May 19.

It is funny how the governors of some states like to blame their state budget problems on someone else. The last time I checked, my federal income taxes went to our federal government to pay for federal programs. Why should my tax dollars go to the residents of Washington and Oregon? There are many states that have fiscal crises, but there are also many states that do not. The difference is some states have governors and state legislatures who were fiscally responsible.

I would ask Gov. Locke of Washington, why should my tax dollars go toward building roads and other public works projects in the state of Washington? If I lived in the Pacific Northwest I guess I would not complain, but I live in Florida and I would rather my tax dollars be spent here. Gov. Locke's state has created this problem and his state will have to make some tough choices and hopefully learn from the situation.

Start demanding results

If the proposed tax cut does not stimulate the economy and create 1.2-million jobs in 2004, as assured us by our president, I suggest the recipients be required to rebate the dollars to the Internal Revenue Service. The cut last year was supposed to generate over 800,000 jobs. It failed to do so.

When do we start holding President Bush accountable and demanding results? When are his supporters going to begin questioning his credibility?

All terrorism and tax cuts

Is it just me or is terrorism the only thing our president talks about? Foreign policy, the economy and markets, health care, education and the elderly are surely topics he should have some reflections on. The only thing I hear about is terrorism and tax cuts. I just know that in a few more months we'll be deluged with re-election rhetoric. Does anyone care about other issues? You'd better - it's your and your kids' future. One other question: "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?"

What's orange got to do with it?

Re: Terror alert levels.

Why are we using colors to note levels of alert? Do we have colored flags flying from appropriate staffs? Do we need to memorize these colors and their corresponding meanings?

This color system is stupid and way too dramatic. Come on people. What's wrong with 1-2-3-4-5? Further, a large percentage of our population is either partially or totally color blind.

I am a strong Bush supporter and I agree we need a homeland defense initiative. But let's get real with the color thing.

The unconstitutional Patriot Act

I wish to register my strong opposition to making the Patriot Act of 2001 permanent.

The Patriot Act's unconstitutional expansion of the government's power to use eavesdropping, surveillance, access to business records and other tools to track terrorist suspects is wrong.

Amendment IV of the U.S. Constitution states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

I urge you to contact your senators and congressman and have them honor their oath to defend the Constitution of the United States by standing up with House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner and opposing this draconian legislation.

A life-saving tool worth its expense

Re: Next step: Tracing wireless 911 calls, May 11.

According to this article, Phase II for cellular telephones is still not in place nationwide. This gives 911 centers the ability to locate where a cellular phone call is coming from.

Three years ago, when I retired as director of emergency communications/911, we had been working to decide what method would be used to have this in place in 2001. I think it is a shame that the Federal Communications Commission cannot implement its own regulations and force the cellular phone companies to comply so that people will not continue to die unnecessarily. It will be expensive, but we can find money for many less important things. Why not the tools necessary to allow our 911 operators to save lives?

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