Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Daniel TilsonFebruary 3, 2015

Keep a close eye on your financial future, ’cause it’s tax-cutting season again in Florida. Maybe this is the year that “Main Street” starts seeing through the tax-cutting game politicians and elected officials play. That would take a whole lot of people getting just a little savvier about the subject, then speaking up and out […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 26, 2015

President Barack Obama urged employers to “give working families a fair shot,” as part of national conversion to the “middle-class economics” he called for in last week’s State of the Union Address. He reminded us that basic necessities of economic survival for working people worldwide, including living wages, paid sick-leave days and affordable child care, […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 23, 2014

My 9-year-old now tells me Santa Clause is fictional. So, I’m sending my letter to someone real, or…well, someone who exists, anyway: Dear Gov. Scott (and please share with GOP colleagues), It’s that time of year. No, not time to instruct staff to delete leftover sensitive emails or texts from the past year. No, not […]

Gary FineoutOctober 11, 2014

Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Republican-turned-Democrat former Gov. Charlie Crist agreed during a debate Friday that Ebola would be bad for Florida – and they disagreed about nearly everything else. In a contentious debate that reflected the negative tone of the campaign, Scott and Crist took opposite sides on issues including health care, the minimum […]

Daniel TilsonJune 24, 2014

It’s official. Forty-five legislative districts in Florida will feature coronations rather than elections come November. All hail participatory democracy in the Sunshine State! Actually, most of the coronations came just in time for Happy Hour last Friday, after the candidate-qualifying period for 2014 had officially closed at high noon. Ceremonies consisted mostly of email and […]

Daniel TilsonApril 10, 2014

If you were among the most wealthy, privileged and politically powerful business people in Florida, and you prioritized limitless monetary gain over and above social responsibility to the state you called home; what would be the most troublesome obstacles in your path? Taxation would have to be “Private Enemy No. 1.” Paying personal income or […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 27, 2014

Let’s face it. Most working families and retirees in Florida take a pass on paying much if any attention to the 60-day lawmaking scrimmage that takes place in Tallahassee around this time each year. Maybe if legislators actually scrimmaged in pads and helmets while debating what they’re going to do to our lives, we’d pay […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 10, 2013

The death of Nelson Mandela understandably overtook the news on Dec. 5. But there was another story unfolding that day, a story that were he still alive and well would have struck a chord deep inside him, where the passion for social justice burned so bright and long. From Miami to Tampa and more than […]

Daniel TilsonDecember 2, 2013

What if you were part of a strategic planning team tasked 35 years or so ago with helping America’s most profitable businesses and richest citizens avoid and evade taxation, regulation and other social responsibilities historically mandated by government? Of course, many would shudder at the very thought of being in on such a scheme, but […]

Tag: middle class

Daniel Tilson: Tax-cutting season again in Tallahassee

Daniel Tilson: Fighting for “middle-class economics” can put Fla. Dems back on track

Daniel Tilson: A Christmas letter to Gov. Rick Scott

Little common ground in gubernatorial debate

Daniel Tilson: Uncontested elections are un-American and unacceptable

Daniel Tilson: A tale of two Floridas

Daniel Tilson: Middle-class Floridians, pay attention to the 2014 legislative session

Daniel Tilson: Fast-food workers seek to “strike” right chord with middle class

Daniel Tilson: Undermining national trust