John Grant: ‘Bulldozer politics’ is good for politicians, bad for citizens

 The curtain is about to go up on the 2014 session of the Florida Legislature and perhaps the top story is not what our leaders will accomplish, but what  they will ignore.

Since the enactment of term limits, legislators know when they are leaving from the day they are elected. The election night tally begins an often not-so-pretty scramble for leadership. Speakers and presidents are often chosen before they even cast their first vote, sometimes before they even take the oath of office. The selection of Richard Corcoran as 2016 speaker back in 2010 is a case in point.

But the worst repercussion of term limits is this: leaders know when they are exiting, so they leave the heavy lifting to their successors.

We select leaders to lead, not duck issues. Now Speaker Will Weatherford and President Don Gaetz are days away from the ceremonial day of getting hung (their picture that is) in their respective chambers.

And neither of these men wants to rock the boat with issues that might bring dissention in their chamber, or heaven forbid, bad press.

Gov. Rick Scott doesn’t want any hot potatoes on his desk either. After all, he is seeking re-election and doesn’t want to make any waves. However, aren’t leaders supposed to make waves as they lead others to consensus on the critical issues of the day?

The economy is improving and for once, after a five-year fiscal drought, the state treasury is seeing an uptick in revenue. So, the hue and cry is to “cut taxes.”

Well, what about all the things that went unattended during the financial drought? Rick (let me cut your taxes) Scott proposes to cut the cost of driving for motorists by an average of $2.08 per month (less than a Big Mac), so that it will be cheaper for people to drive on roads that are crumbling due to neglect.

Florida’s most recent “Infrastructure Report Card,” done in cooperation with the American Society of Civil Engineers, reveals that most of the state’s infrastructure remains the  same or has deteriorated since 2008.

Said Eric Czerniejewski, chair of the 2012 Report Card Committee: “As a state, we have fallen behind in building a modern infrastructure system that will be sustainable in a post-recession economy.”

Think about it, the big southern migration that catapulted Florida into a top-tier state is about to celebrate its golden anniversary and roads, bridges, schools and other infrastructure crumbling. Yet fixing these vital facilities remains off the table this year.

Now, the elephant in the room that Scott, Weatherford and Gaetz don’t want to talk about, much less deal with, is Medicaid.

It has been ignored. For three years, the state has turned down billions in federal money to expand the program in the state.

That’s what I coined as “bulldozer politics.” If you just push it along, the ground stays level under your feet and the pile gets bigger against the blade. But a leader wins if he can push the bigger pile onto someone else’s watch.

By waging its absurd war against the federal government, the Legislature is shamelessly snubbing low-pay workers and hurting the financial health of the state’s hospitals.

A recent study by Florida International University says nearly 25 percent of Floridians are living near or below the poverty level. Many are without access to health care, but could have access if Florida would accept the more than $52 billion the federal government has offered the state over the next decade.

Heaven forbid that the legislative leaders would take up anything that would cost them votes.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have leaders who would tackle the issues of the day and not foist them off on leaders who will have to address them years from now – when the problems are even more urgent than they are today?

That’s my position and I am sticking to it.

John Grant is a political columnist who served 21 years in the Florida Legislature. He can be reached at [email protected].