Some days, I wake up and I am optimistic about the future. This is not one of those days. Today, I worry about the continued steady march of All Aboard Florida and the degradation of our lagoon. It seems the deck is stacked against the citizens and residents of the Treasure Coast. Our elected representatives in both Washington and Tallahassee pay lip service to our environment and quality of life but then sell us out for a campaign contribution from Big Sugar or AAF or anyone looking to get their subsidized corporate welfare payment.
Hamilton, Jefferson and Madison never envisioned a system where government dollars would be spent subsidizing agriculture or industry. Alexander Hamilton never asked that the Bank of New York or the New York Post, both of which he founded, be given a subsidy. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison never encouraged the passing of farm bills so they would be paid by the Feds to grow or not grow tobacco.
Our founders were men looking to limit government influence on daily life not encourage more. They had just fought a war to get the British off their backs. It was obvious to them that monopolies and crony capitalism were bad. Government was to be an even arbiter for business and citizens not the deciding factor of who should get tax payer dollars.
But now we see the harm that Big Sugar and AAF are doing and will continue to do is only made possible by our elected representatives. The land south of Okeechobee would be useless if sugar and other agricultural products weren’t subsidized. The private market won’t finance AAF. That is why both Washington and Tallahassee are using public dollars, our taxes, to allow something the people do not want.
The Pols tell you that it is about jobs and affordable food, but the U.S. sugar price is double that of the rest of the world and nothing AAF is doing even remotely resembles high speed passenger rail. More and more, the system favors the well connected and well-off over the rest of us. The people are ignored and deceived so that the gravy train can continue.
It is wrong and we must hold the elected representatives responsible for their actions. We need to stop arguing as if the blather on Fox or MSNBC amounts to anything more than amusement. Whether one is a Republican or Democrat is meaningless in the government today. It is a convenient way to divide us so that the powerful can continue taking more and more and giving less and less. There is no right or left…only the connected and then the rest of us.
We need to wake up and think about actualities not the spurious arguments being made by the news media. When was the last time giving billions in tax breaks and handouts to a sports team resulted in a dollar in your pocket? Since we are giving payments and subsidies to “Big Agriculture,” how come the cost of food is so high? Government’s role is to be the arbiter and make sure the field is level for everyone. They should not choose which business receives the people’s largess.
Amendment 1 was passed by 75% of the voters. Those voters assumed that they were doing so to make sure the sugar land and other strategic parcels were purchased. They didn’t vote for that amendment to fund government agencies or as a big give away to the friends of the governor and legislators. Either the Pols in Tallahassee respect our wishes, or we should vote them out. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue. Because when our rivers are dead and our treasury is dry, no one will care if a liberal or a conservative philosophy resulted in this coming to pass.