The Way I See ItBy cj pollickWaste Of Taxpayers Funds? - In Largo, taxpayers are wondering why two elected city officials need to attend a so-called government conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. All conference expenses are to be paid by Largo taxpayers. Who is going? Mayor Pat Gerard and Commissioner Rodney Woods. Gerard says she should attend as the top elected official in Largo. Woods, on the other hand, would like to attend because it is available (and he is from Louisiana.) Other city officials have not expressed a desire to attend the out-of-state conference. With all of the recent controversy in Largo surrounding Gerard and Woods, it makes you wonder why the same two elected officials would decide to travel together to an out-of-state conference on the taxpayers' tab. Of course, there are some folks who see this government travel option as coming to an abrupt end after the next city elections. Thus, and possibly from their point of view, why not take advantage of this travel option while it is still available. The next city elections should be interesting to follow considering some of the decisions made by Pat Gerard and Rodney Woods during the past year or more when defending Steve/Sue Stanton. Pinellas County Development Moves Forward - Pinellas County Commissioners say they are trying to help countywide tourism by supporting higher density allowances for hotel construction. What this means is that hotel developers now can build up to 100 hotel rooms per acre of property if the land site was one-three acres. More than three acres of land would allow 125 per acre. This proposed county change will allow private developers a considerable increase when planning to develop a new hotel. Good for tourism? County Commissioners think so. Lendor Foreclosure Rates - According to RealtyTrac, homeowner foreclosure filings have increased by 9 percent from the previous month. The homeowner foreclosure rate has caused some politicians in Washington to wonder if the government should help solve this national problem. The highest foreclosure rates in the country?
#1 Nevada - 1 foreclosure for every 199 households. The lowest foreclosure rate? Vermont. 1 for every 34,149 households. Makes you wonder how the federal government might help to solve this growing national problem due to things like adjustable rate homeowner mortgages, etc. Readers of the Gazette have observed this problem with local investors who had speculated and purchased real (investment) property by use of adjustable rate loans that have now been increased due to market conditions by lendors. How many investment properties might be returned to the local real estate market by financial lendors at reduced prices? Imagine the magnitude of this problem in Nevada, Georgia, Michigan and California! Florida Democrat Party Installs Quotas - Just when you might have thought the Democrat Party would not ruin some positive election gains, they go and do something to take the party backwards. Of course, this is about the Florida Democrat Party, the party that has lost ground in Florida the past several elections, in great part, due to themselves. What did the Florida Democrat Party do to cause such a national uproar? They installed "Party Representative" quotas. For example, they want to have 24 percent of their Democrat Party delegate representatives as coming from the black community (racial profiling?), 10 percent of delegates would come from the so-called "gay" community, etc., etc. Quotas. Racial profiling was an issue that many thought was being eliminated in American politics. How will this quota decision work to help the Democrat Party in Florida? With this type of political philosophy it makes you wonder what Democrats would do if elected to top Florida offices . . . install racial, social, sex quotas? The way I see it, top Democrat officials must wonder why anyone in State Party leadership would opt to "rock the boat" politically when Democrats are trying to attract moderate, independent voters to their political points of view. Road To Damascus Getting Crowded - Yes, Presidential hopefuls Rudy Guilani (former mayor) of a huge "sanctuary city," and none other than "open the borders to everyone" John McCain, are now both saying illegal immigration must stop and we must seal our borders. Are we really going to believe this new found "religion?" How To Face Large Medical Bills - There was an interesting book written by a professor at Ohio University about the current bankruptcy rate and medical costs. According to the professor, of the 1.7 million bankruptcies in the 2005 report half were related to bankruptcies due to large medical bills. (Large medical bills that could not be paid by the patient.) Some of the large bills were due to cancer and other dreaded diseases. Unfortunately, many of the people adversely affected by this medical cost were elderly. The only way out, said one recovering cancer patient, was to file for bankruptcy protection from creditors. Makes you wonder how this catastrophic medical issue could be addressed for the benefit of all concerned parties. The way I see it, American taxpayer money wasted on illegal immigration (free benefits gratis of crossing our soil) could be directed to help solve medical problems of our legal citizens and legal workers. A catastrophic federal-based medical fund that helps to pay for major medical bills for American citizens over a base deductible, say $25,000, that working people could afford to buy from the open insurance market. Providers would, of course, qualify for payment under federal payment guidelines and, by accepting payment, not seek other forms of payments from patients. Hospitals and doctors would receive funds from the insurer and catastrophic coverage funds from the federal government where, according to the good professor, the medical providers of the large bills might currently receive little or no funds. Forcing over 750,000 people to file bankruptcy due to large major medical bills reflects a flaw in the system . . . a flaw that could be fixed by re-directing current taxpayer funds that are being wasted. Grandma Is Marrying At Her Age? - Folks are living longer and, as expected, women typically outlive men. Not always, but generally. Now comes an issue that children and grandchildren are confronting: What happens to Grandma's money if she dies before her new husband? Of course, the assumption is that Grandma had a large amount of money after Grandpa's demise. One legal mind opined that this is an issue that could be clearly resolved with a prenuptial agreement explaining what would happen to Grandma's money. Call it pre-planning for a late-life relationship where children and grandchildren are involved. Late-life marriage without such financial planning might result in funds going to people other than what was once thought. See an attorney about this topic if you are thinking about a late-life romance that might turn into marriage. What, they refuse to sign a prenup? Hmmm. Money Earned From The Grave - According to Forbes, dead celebrities can earn considerable money even after death. For example, here is the list of top dead celebrity earners last year:
1. Elvis Presley, $37 million. Yes, Elvis is still the "King" 30 years after his death. Amazing as it might seem, James Dean, who died in 1955, made $3 million last year. Elvis Presley - - still earning big bucks from Graceland. |