Still Not Stimulated-- If You're Not First, You're Last!
Monday September 28, 2009 | Miami
It’s always great to be the best at something, isn’t it? Florida recently got spanked for coming last in spending federal stimulus dollars on transportation and infrastructure. In other words, we were number one in not spending federal ARRA dollars.
There is slow spending at the state level despite the fact that Florida’s unemployment rate, foreclosure rate, and general economic disarray is higher than most other places in the country. After all, we (including California and Texas) were the epicenter of the mortgage crisis. Our state is the poster child for why the stimulus was necessary. Even our moderate Republican governor got behind President Obama early in supporting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We just can’t seem to spend it at this moment even though this is when we supposedly need it the most. The county and municipal budgets are in a total freefall.
Our state recovery leaders say that the delay is in order “to improve the state for the long term and create and protect jobs.” They argue that they are spending slowly now in order to make sure that they spend the money wisely and with the most impact.
We're here at ground zero for the unmitigated development bubble and the inevitable housing crash, where ‘planning’ is a four letter word, where there is constant threat to build over the everglades and drill offshore, where gambling and out-of-control development is substituted for a state income tax, and where the Lotto pays for public education. I am not all together convinced by the sudden proclivity for thoughtful and prudent government planning.
BUT, Since I haven’t joined the ranks of the tea baggers yet (the right wing crazies have been outside stimulus meetings calling for the heads of these same officials, including our Republican governor), I hold a hope that the massive investment of stimulus dollars still has the potential to dramatically restructure the Florida economy, not just patch the holes in it. So, with a deep breath, I offer to these officials and our great republic the following fundamentals: (By the way this argument is made more formally in a White Paper just released by the Miami Workers Center, click here).
Read the rest of this article at The Huffington Post