Once again, the legislature is getting ready to perform their most prized magic trick…the sleight of hand!
While homelessness continues to grow each year, our so-called leaders in Tallahassee raid the Sadowski Fund for purposes other than its intended use which is affordable housing. Sawdowski has a dedicated funding source which are the proceeds from document stamps on real estate transactions.
What a perfect place to have funds allocated for the construction and repair of affordable housing. The legislature need do nothing every year to send aid for this population except leave the fund alone to operate as intended. Of course, that is too much to ask of the very people with the biggest egos.
Our legislators believe that they know best. It doesn’t matter how the people vote. If it gets in the way of enough legislators’ desires or that of their contributor friends, then the program or the people’s decision take a back seat.
If a beach town wants to stop single family homes from being rented out by the day, our legislators believe it is an infringement on someone’s property rights. Of course, our legislators forget about the neighbors’ rights to live in their single-family homes free from an “Animal House” next door.
From where to place a garage door (our very own Toby Overdorf) to what to plant in a front yard, nothing is too small or too insignificant not to have our legislators tell us what to do. Most of those “knowledgeable” state representatives impart to us, their mere constituents, are the wishes of their leadership, the lobbyists, and big business interests who do not want to deal with counties and cities to make their dreams come true.
We elect our county and city commissioners to make decisions reflecting local concerns. It is easy to make our thoughts known to them. While for the most part state legislators pretend to care about us. At the end of the day, they carry the water of the big money boys. Those that contribute to their campaigns.
Those legislators know they can count on your vote in the heavily gerrymandered districts. Most in Martin County wouldn’t dare not vote for the Republican no matter how they acted against their constituents’ interest and desires in Tallahassee. If you are from Broward, just substitute the Democrat Party.
When we shed those crocodile tears for the homeless, the funds to do something are there in the state treasury. We just turn a blind eye to legislators disregarding what we voted to fund. There is no penalty to pay. Those legislators are just playing by the rules we allow.
Think about that the next time you pull the lever and ignore what your legislators actually did do in the secretive Tallahassee swamp.