War on the Middle Class

 "The War on the Middle Class... Florida Style" by v. johns, 7/30/08, 10:50PM

If you haven't already, I want to invite you to go back and read my last post titled "Our Independence Day" as it discusses the price we have all paid for the misconduct and misguidance of our so-called leaders. Their corruption, hubris, lack of vision and their failure to lead their fellow citizens and constituents in the right direction has cost us greatly. This post also discusses the failure of the state's citizens themselves to recognize what's really important in our lives, leaving the door wide open for hucksters and charlatans to step in and run the show. Thus, the political hijacking of our governance has not only cost us our right to a clean and decent mass transit system that could have been built years ago, it has also cost us our pride, our credibility... and our livability.

With all the partisan posturing and political tom foolery that has gone on in the state of Florida, and around the nation, in the last decade, all the time spent by our local leaders, our legislators and our citizens over garbage issues, power plays and ploys, could have been better used to secure a more stable framework for all the people of the State of Florida. Rather than foolishly and blindly bickering over ideological silliness centering around wedge issues like God, guns and gays (and pregnant pigs) - issues that have blinded us to the problems we now face - we could have been planning and creating a world-class transit system, a world-class education system, a long-lasting, higher-quality job market and a more mature and recognizable national and international business scene. Instead we have all squandered our future on mindless ideological stances and so-called principles that have nothing to do with real progress.

With nearly no money left in our state and local coffers to finance the things we've taken for granted (police and fire protection, libraries, schools), as well as the things we are beginning to realize that we need (efficient public mass transit), we are all now learning the real costs of politics over policy. Surely, by now, despite what's going on nationally, we could have had it all, here in Florida... We "could have been a contender." Instead, we find ourselves nearly homeless, leaderless, visionless, drowning in debt and swamped with hidden taxes we thought we'd voted against... All of us wondering what has happened, what might have been... And at the very least wondering... Just what lies ahead...