Daniel TilsonThe balls are moving faster from shell to shell up in Tallahassee now, as political hucksters and con artists enter double-digit territory in Florida’s 2014 legislative session.
At this stage of the game, working families and retired folks should look away from the moving balls, check their wallets and valuables, and refocus all attention on reality.
Sure, reality bites — but not as much as continuing to be conned.
Part of the scam is that there’s so much legislative jargon, so many committees and bills and resolutions, it’s easy to lose track of the who, what, when, where and why of it all; easier still to get cynical and avoid the game entirely.
But there’s another easy alternative, with a much better payoff.
Legislators who build bills to benefit wealthy folks, big businesses and assorted private special interests, they talk a great game about doing exactly the opposite.
So the idea is, rather than falling for the con or avoiding it entirely…call it out.
Pick a couple of key areas of public policy that affect you and all Florida’s working families and retirees, pay just enough attention to see the con unfolding, then act.
Start with public education.
First, Republican legislators worked with Gov. Rick Scott to cut billions from public school budgets, leaving teachers underpaid and creating confusion and concern over evaluations, standards, testing and more.
Now that most of them are up for re-election this November, they’re putting money back into the system, talking about teacher raises and asking the public to keep an eye on the ball stamped “We Care!”
But every time they talk about their commitment to education, it’s a clue to the con. It’s a tip to take your eye off the ball they want you to follow and look instead at what in reality is the biggest education item on their 2014 agenda, by far.
That would be the double-barreled, voucher-expanding blast at public schools, otherwise known as Senate Bill 1620 and House Bill 7099. Under the guise of giving parents “choice”, the legislation would divert billions in public funds to private, for-profit and predominantly religious schools, while promoting corporate tax evasion.
That’s what conservative Republican legislators call a win-win…in private.
The same goes for HB 703 and SB 1464, dangerous legislation that would prohibit local governments from having control over growth and development in their own backyards.
Voters in 2014 will be urged to follow fast-moving balls stamped “Economic Growth” and “Environmental Protection” as they slide from shell to shell. But the ball stamped “Danger” will remain hidden.
Look up from the game again. Take a look at the true intentions and real dangers of this proposed law, and your eyes may roll back in your head.
In addition to local governments being robbed of their rightful role in real estate growth and development oversight, they’d lose decision-making power over environmental protection of their own wetlands and water supplies.
Ironically enough for a conservative Republican initiative, the new law would have big government in Tallahassee making the big growth, development and environmental protection decisions for our local communities moving forward.
And rest assured, the Florida Chamber of Commerce will be there to help.
Guess that’s what they call a win-win-win.
So, the challenge is to keep them from winning, and keep 99 percent of us from losing.
It doesn’t require much time or effort.
Just write down those bill numbers from up above, contact your legislators, tell them they’ve dropped the ball, you’re onto their game, and it’s time to kill these bills.
A New York University graduate, Daniel Tilson owns a Boca Raton-based firm, Full Cup Media, offering “a la carte” and custom-bundled packages of communication services. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
