The Way I See ItBy cj pollickPenny For Pinellas - The name "Penny For Pinellas" was derived from creative folks who wanted to disguise an add-on tax for Pinellas County taxpayers. The add-on tax was intended to be used to help fund county/city projects that perhaps would not be funded due to restricted government budgets and revenues. Penny For Pinellas tax revenues has been used to pay for many Pinellas County projects; in fact, many local governments count on "Penny" tax revenues in their budget planning process. The good news? There will be "Penny" tax funds to spend. The bad news? There will be less "Penny" funds than expected. How should city planners and elected officials handle this financial shortfall? One would expect elected officials would plan for the worst and hope for the better. Is that what is happening? Marco Rubio Receives Small Business Endorsement - If you follow the US Senate race in Florida, you know that Crist has abandoned his political roots and changed to running as a non-partisan candidate. Of course, Crist's decision to change parties was due to low polling numbers in the Republican Primary, where, it was predicted, Crist would have lost to Marco Rubio. Interestingly, Marco Rubio recently won the endorsement of a national small business group who traditionally supports candidates who support small business interests. This endorsement sends a message to small businesses owners across Florida that Marco Rubio has been found to be the best candidate for election due to his positions supporting small businesses. Further, President Obama and staff stated Washington would help promote the Democrat candidate (Meek) in Florida for election to the US Senate. Marco Rubio Gets US Chamber Of Commerce Endorsement - The US Chamber Of Commerce endorsed Florida US Senate candidate Marco Rubio. This endorsement is important since this major business group carefully reviews and selects candidates that would best support business needs in Florida and America. This is another major endorsement for Marco Rubio and all of the support that the US Chamber Of Commerce will furnish. Rubio still leads all other opponents for the Florida senate seat according to recent polls. With a tight three-way race expected between republican Rubio, democrat Meeks and non-partisan Crist, this Chamber Of Commerce business endorsement should help Rubio win support from the small business community in Florida. Another Failed Program - According to The New York Times, the TARP inspector general has called the Obama administration's mortgage modification program "one of the greatest failures of the Treasury Department." More State Care - Under Massachusetts' Obamacare-like health system, the relentlessly rising cost of health insurance is prompting companies to drop coverage and encourage workers to sign up for State subsidized care instead. Government subsidized healthcare is the trend in Massachusetts and is expected to be the trend with our national healthcare plan. Further, insurers bracing for higher costs under Obamacare are creating new plans that limit patients' choice of doctors. Just Another Frustrated Citizen - Like many citizens, it is discouraging to observe decisions being made by our elected leaders in Washington. It was frustrating to many Americans to see how President Bush handled illegal immigration, government spending and protection of American jobs. It is quantumly more frustrating to see how President Obama is handling illegal immigration, government spending and protection of American jobs and Nancy Pelosi would have imagined that Obama would be no better than Bush! America is factually falling deeper in debt every day, our American dollar is falling in value, American jobs are being lost every month to China and other foreign nations, our federal government refuses to contain illegal immigration, big business and banks receive government "bailouts" while small businesses are allowed to close, many Americans are losing their homes due to loan corruption, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are billions in debt (and are seeking full federal bailout), social security may run out of money in a few years, government passed a federal healthcare plan that will likely require taxpayer funds forever, our government has socialized many industries, we have expanded entitlement programs, lawyers are running new government agencies instead of businesspeople, elected officials receive annual pay raises, our largest employers are government agencies instead of private business owners, foreign nations no longer respect America and radical terrorists who hate Americans are growing in numbers. The future? God knows we need to change direction. Yes, there was a time when duty, honor, country meant something. Many of us have parents or grandparents who came to America to have freedom and opportunities. Yes, all of them came to America and qualified as "legal" citizens. Our proud grandparents learned English, albeit broken English, but they supported all of their children speaking English-the language of their new country. These were proud Americans who worked in coalmines, steel mills, farms and other "grassroots" businesses. They would never take something for free unless they could repay. They were frugal and supported their children going to school. If a student got in trouble in school…they would have fared worse when they got home. Mom was waiting. (And Mom/Dad did not spare the stick!) Back talk? It may not have been a perfect world, but teachers were not afraid of being shot, employers had a hard-working "American" workforce and many workers were proud to own a home. Banks? Hometown banks handled most of ordinary banking needs while larger banks handled commercial and business needs located in larger cities. Credit default swaps and derivatives? Bankers were afraid of such things. Most loans and mortgages were repaid as many homes tended to remain "in the family." Church or Synagogue? Yep, people worshipped without fear that the federal government would outlaw the sign of a cross or star or saluting our flag or saying the "Pledge of Allegiance" before school or a public meeting. For one reason or another, some of our politicians have tried to kill God. Imagine. Elections are in a few months and voters have a chance to change the direction of our country, if they so desire. Career politicians are worried about groups such the Tea Party and other "independent" citizen groups. It is a fact that these citizen groups have and will help to remove out-dated career politicians from both major political parties. Will voters change the direction of America? Time will tell. |