NBC’s Domenico Montanaro column, “Ads: A state-by-state breakdown of who’s spending where” states, “Clearly, and not surprisingly, the campaigns see Florida, Ohio, and Virginia as critical. They are far and away Nos. 1, 2, and 3 on the list.”
“Despite the huge influx of money from outside groups, only in Virginia are Romney and allies out in front. In Florida and Ohio, the Super PACs are chipping in just enough to be on par with Obama,” notes Montanaro.
Montanro’ list of ad spending by state:
1. Florida – $117.4 million
2. Ohio – $112.1 million
3. Virginia – $85.7 million
4. North Carolina – $56.5 million
5. Colorado – $54.2 million
6. Iowa – $46.6 million
7. Nevada – $38.2 million
8. New Hampshire – $25.3 million
9. Pennsylvania – $19.3 million
10. Wisconsin – $8.1 million
11. Michigan – $8 million
12. Minnesota – $3.2 million
13. New Mexico – $49,000
Spending in Florida by group/organization/party:
Team Obama: $58.9 million
Team Romney: $54.4 million
Romney $14,589,522
Am Crossroads $12,509,348
Crossroads GPS $12,293,037
AFP $9,014,582
Restore $7,819,601
Am Future Fund $1,359,061
Am Energy All $854,325
RNC $6,635
Team Romney $31,340,606
Obama $44,206,441
Priorities $12,713,685
SEIU $1,475,589
Planned Parenthod $447,657
MoveOn $64,359
ACLU $17,060
Team Obama $58,924,791
TOTAL: $117.4 million
Total booked on TV and radio this presidential general election: $575 million.
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-13 09:01:502012-09-13 09:01:50Florida is #1 in Paid Political Ads
The continuing collapse of marriage in America, along with a dramatic rise in births to single women, is the most important cause of childhood poverty. In Florida, for example, seven of every 10 poor families with children are headed by a single parent, most of them mothers.
Only 7 percent of married couples with children in Florida were poor in 2009, compared with a third of single-parent families with children (33.4 percent). In Florida, marriage drops the probability of a child’s living in poverty by 78 percent.
Such state numbers on marriage and poverty mirror the national ones. Ignoring the positive impact of marriage on children leads to faulty government policies. It’s tragic, really.
On Sept. 12, the U.S. Census Bureau is set to release its annual poverty report. We’re likely to hear that more than 16 million children in America — about one in five — are poor. Clearly the current recession with its high unemployment pushed up these numbers. But the fact is the child poverty rate was high before the recession and will remain so after it ends.
In 2010, nearly half of all children born in Florida were born outside marriage. Sadly, the women most likely to have children without being married are those with the least ability to support children financially on their own. About 75 percent of births to Florida women who are high school dropouts occur outside marriage. Among women who are college graduates, only 11.5 percent of births are out of wedlock.
America is splitting into two economic castes: In the top, children are raised by married couples with a college education. In the bottom, children are raised by single mothers with a high school diploma or less.
Policymakers at the state and national level, of course, know that education reduces poverty. But they’re largely unaware that marriage is an equally strong anti-poverty weapon. Remarkably, being married is as strong a factor in reducing poverty as graduating from high school. In Florida, married couples with children are 74 percent less likely to be poor than single-parent families with the same level of education.
The nation wisely spends billions of dollars a year to educate low-income children, and billions more for means-tested welfare aid for single mothers. But, despite the massive impact of marriage in reducing poverty, government does little or nothing to discourage births outside marriage — and nothing to encourage healthy marriages.
Many common misconceptions persist. This isn’t about teen pregnancy: Most non-marital births occur to women in their early 20s. Girls under 18 account for only about seven of every 100 births outside marriage. Also, lack of access to birth control isn’t a significant factor.
Some claim unmarried fathers just aren’t “marriageable.” In fact, the overwhelming majority are. These fathers have jobs and, on average, have higher earnings than the mothers. If they remained in the home, child poverty would drop dramatically.
Are low-income single mothers hostile to marriage? No. Research shows most look quite favorably on the institution. They simply don’t see marriage as something that should come before the baby carriage. The result is sustained high levels of child poverty and a host of related social problems.
We need to develop new policies that build on these positive attitudes about marriage. Policymakers and ordinary citizens, looking at these numbers, should demand that government provide facts about the value of marriage to at-risk youth.
For instance, government ought to connect low-income couples with community resources to help them learn, or relearn, skills needed to build and sustain healthy marriages — before they bring children into the world.
It’s also imperative to reform the welfare system to encourage rather than penalize marriage.
Just as government discourages young people from doing drugs or dropping out of school, it should expose the severe shortcomings of the “child first, marriage later” philosophy — especially in low-income communities. Then we will begin to lift millions of children out of poverty.
Mark Mather from the Population Reference Bureau reports, “In the United States, the number ofchildren in single-mother families has risen dramatically over the past four decades, causing considerable concern among policymakers and the public. Researchers have identified the rise in single-parent families (especially mother-child families) as a major factor driving the long-term increase in child poverty in the United States.” To read the full report click here.
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-12 09:25:172012-09-12 09:25:17Marriage Reduces Child Poverty in Florida By 78%
It is ironic and iconic that pro-Islamic protesters tried to disrupt a peaceful 9/11 event in Tampa while at the same time J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, and three consulate staffers were being murdered by Islamists.
Rob Shaw from Tampa Bay Online reports, “As many Americans observed a quiet remembrance of the deadly terrorist attacks 11 years ago on American soil, the scene Tuesday outside the Hillsborough County School District was anything but solemn. There was screaming. There was shouting. There were angry words and finger pointing.”
The pro-Islamic protesters were concerned about “insults to Islam”. Pro-Islamic protesters carried signs saying “No hate in Hillsborough,” another said “Racist jerks go home”. A young Jewish protester carried a sign stating, “This Jew Stands with our Muslim Brothers”. It is unclear if he meant the Muslim Brotherhood that has taken control in Egypt, attacked the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and has called for the destruction of Israel.
Tampa was a more peaceful confrontation than in other areas in the Middle East. There were over fifty peaceful citizens who were at the school board to remember the events on 9/11 and ask the Hillsborough County School Board to ban the group CAIR from speaking to students. CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holyland Foundation trial. The FBI directly linked CAIR to the terrorist organization HAMAS during the trial.
While the pro-Islamic protesters were few in number they were loud, shouting “Stop the War”. At one point the organizers of the 9/11 event began chanting “No More Debt” acknowledging Admiral Mullins, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who testified before Congress that “the greatest threat to our national security is our national debt.”
Many there to remember those lost on 9/11 tried to engage the protesters in dialogue. Several of the pro-Islam protesters called those assembled dirty names and tried to take over the 9/11 remembrance event. However, the event organizers were civil and engaging.
It is noteworthy that four Tampa police officers on motorcycles and uniformed security for the Hillsborough School Board stood by and did nothing to keep the two groups separated. Rather the police allowed the pro-Islamic protesters to cross the street and confront face-to-face those there to peacefully commemorate 9/11.
Terry Kemple, who helped organize the 9/11 rememberance, stated, “This is not anti-Muslim, this is talking about groups with ties to terrorism. We want to let the school board know there’s more than a few of us who believe that. We want the people in America to wake up.” Kemple is running for the Hillsborough County School Board.
VIDEO: U.S. embassies in both Cairo and Benghazi were targeted over alleged “insults” to Islam.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement regarding riots in Libya and Egypt that resulted in the murder of America’s ambassador to Libya and three members of his staff:
“I am deeply saddened and troubled by the mob attacks in Libya that led to the murder of our ambassador and three members of his staff. I had the chance of meeting Ambassador Chris Stevens during his confirmation process and again when I visited Libya last year. He was an exemplary diplomat and his embassy staff could not have been more helpful and knowledgeable during my visit. My prayers are with the families and loved ones of these courageous diplomats who were working to help the Libyan people rise from the ashes of Gaddafi’s rule.
“It is imperative that these senseless mob attacks be condemned by the Libyan government and that it commit to stop this violence and bring those responsible for the deaths of our American diplomats to justice. In both Libya and Egypt, their governments have an obligation to resolutely condemn these violent attacks and protect American diplomatic missions and personnel based on their soil.
“The Libyan and Egyptian people should understand that the U.S. shares their commitment to building more hopeful and prosperous nations. However, if left unchecked, violent attacks like these against our embassies and diplomats will lead Libya and Egypt down a dark path and rob them of their hopes of a more prosperous and democratic future. The broader publics in Libya and Egypt should condemn the violence and distance themselves from the unruly and intolerant elements of their society that threaten the security and future of their nations.”
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-12 08:40:092012-09-12 08:40:09Pro-Islamist Protesters Try To Shout Down Tampa 9/11 Event
The last time a U.S. Ambassador was killed was in 1979 during the Carter Administration. Tamim Elyan and Omar al-Mosmari from Reutersreport:
J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other embassy staff were killed in a rocket attack on their car, a Libyan official said, as they were rushed from a consular building stormed by militants denouncing a U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.
Gunmen had attacked and burned the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, a center of last year’s uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, late on Tuesday evening, killing one U.S. consular official. The building was evacuated.
The Libyan official said the ambassador, Christopher Stevens, was being driven from the consulate building to a safer location when gunmen opened fire.
“The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them,” the official in Benghazi told Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from the State Department in Washington. U.S. ambassadors in such volatile countries are accompanied by tight security, usually travelling in well-protected convoys. Security officials will be considering whether the two attacks were coordinated.
Libyan deputy prime minister Mustafa Abu Shagour condemned the killing of the U.S. diplomats as a cowardly act.
The consular official had died after clashes between Libyan security forces and Islamist militants around the consulate building. Looters raided the empty compound and some onlookers took pictures after calm returned.
In neighboring Egypt, demonstrators had torn down an American flag and burned it during the protest. Some tried to raise a black flag with the words “There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger”, a Reuters witness said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a statement late on Tuesday, confirmed the death of the U.S. consular diplomat in Libya, who was not identified, and condemned the attack there; but she made no mention of an attack on the Ambassador’s car.
RELATED VIDEO:
Sam Bacile’s “The Muhammad Movie” was used as the excuse by Libyans to fuel the murder of three consulate members including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The film was release in July 2012 but only recently translated into Arabic and distributed in the Middle East.
Representative Allen West (FL-22) is the first Republican to release an ad hitting Democrats for rejecting God three times during the Democrat National Convention.
According to Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com. “”The first Republican ad is out that hits Democrats for initially rejecting God and then booing adoption of an emergency amendment to the party platform adding God back in after coming under heavy criticism nationwide.”
“The add, sponsored by the congressional campaign of Florida pro-life Rep. Allen West, features both footage of Democrats loudly rejecting the amendment and booing it after its eventual adoption as well as footage of talking heads like Democratic strategist Paul Begala calling the ordeal an embarrassment for the Democratic Party,” notes Ertelt.
Here is Congressman West’s ad:
This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform and became the center of this controversy:
“We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”
Now the words “God-given” have been removed. The paragraph has been restructured to say this:
“We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-12 06:18:342012-09-12 06:18:34Allen West Releases Ad Hitting Dems for Rejecting God
Tom Tillison of Florida Political Press reports of, “A Democratic candidate in Maryland, Wendy Rosen, dropping out of her congressional race after her own party told state officials that she had committed fraud by voting in both Maryland and Florida in recent elections.”
“The Maryland Democratic Party has discovered that Ms. Rosen has been registered to vote in both Florida and Maryland since at least 2006; that she in fact voted in the 2006 general election both in Florida and Maryland; and that she voted in the presidential preference primaries held in both Florida and Maryland in 2008,” wrote Yvette Lewis, the state party chair,” notes Tillison.
Watchdog Wire recently reported on the problem of dual registration in Florida and referred to it as the “Snow Bird Scandal“.
Russ Buettner, New York Daily News staff writer, wrote in an August 2004 article titled “Registered to Vote in City & Fla.“, “Some 46,000 New Yorkers are registered to vote in both the city [of New York] and Florida, a shocking finding that exposes both states to potential abuses that could alter the outcome of elections, a Daily News investigation shows.”
“Registering in two places is illegal in both states, but the massive snowbird scandal goes undetected because election officials don’t check rolls across state lines. The News found that between 400 and 1,000 registered voters have voted twice in at least one election, a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. One was Norman Siegel, 84, who is registered as a Republican in both Pinellas Park, Fla., and Briarwood, Queens. Siegel has voted twice in seven elections, including the last four presidential races, records show,” writes Buettner.
Matthew Hay Brown, of The Baltimore Sun, reports, “Rosen, 57, a Cockeysville businesswoman and Maryland voter, told The Baltimore Sun that she registered to vote in Florida several years ago in order to support a “very close friend” running for the St. Petersburg City Council and to vote on local issues there.
“Rosen said she was able to register in Florida because she owned property there,” writes Brown.
Some states like Kansas have banded together to cross check voter rolls with bordering states. No action has been taken to date by Florida to work with those who have a residence in another state to determine if they are registered or have voted in both Florida and their home state.
Perhaps the Rosen problem is bigger than Florida wants to admit? Some are asking when will Florida address the dual registration issue?
11 years following attack American Muslim Organization calls on candidates to maintain vigilance in the fight against radical ideology
PHOENIX (September 11, 2012) The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is calling on President Obama and presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney to use the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to reengage the national discussion into the root causes of this horrible attack that claimed nearly 3,000 American lives.
With the understandable concerns over the U.S. economy driving the 2012 president race, both the Administration and the Romney campaign seem to be content to not engage on important issues in the global arena. But eleven years since the attacks on our country the U.S. still has done little to address the ideology of political Islam which is the root cause that led Al Qaeda and 19 hijackers to attack our country. In fact with the Islamist political victories in the Middle-East since the “Arab Spring” it is clear that the ideology of political Islam, and the radicalism that is borne within the ideology, are growing in a post 9-11 world.
“We need our national leaders to reengage on the 9/11 issue,” said Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, author of the boook A Battle for the Soul of Islam. “The threat that the United States faces is ever more real and it needs a national focus on fighting an ideology that is at complete odds with American Liberty. President Obama and Governor Romney need to be advocating for a Liberty Doctrine in the Middle East so that we can eventually have an impact on the breeding ground of hatred against our country.”
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy has long advocated that the solution to the ideological war against militant Islamism is the development of a Liberty Doctrine. The United States needs to develop an unfaltering commitment to advocating the principles of our country. These ideas are the greatest tool we have to combat the morally bankrupt ideologies that have shackled the people of the Middle East for generations. As we saw with the fall of communism it is the ideals of individual liberty and freedom that can change the world.
“The lesson from the attacks of 9/11 is that the U.S. has to enter the ideological battle against our enemies,” said Jasser. “We can no longer idly sit by and allow the secular fascists and the theocrats to destroy movements for liberty. If we can become champions for liberty in the Middle East, we can begin to inoculate the people of the region to the supremacist mindset that creates the ideological underpinnings of Islamist inspired terrorism.”
About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy:
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit the website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-11 10:08:272012-09-11 10:08:279/11 Anniversary Lost in Presidential Race
Mark D’Alessio at the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce points out a few facts about the dismal performance of Chicago public schools:
As of 12:00 a.m. this morning, more than 26,000 teachers in Chicago officially went on a union-led strike impacting 400,000 kids in 675 schools. The first Chicago teachers strike in 25 years was brought upon the city’s children and their parents as a result of failed negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Chicago Public School officials. Some topics of negotiation include teacher evaluations, guaranteed wage increases, and health benefits.
Although the details of the contract negotiations are murky, according to the Wall Street Journal, preliminary demands from the Chicago Teachers Union included a 19% salary raise in the first year. The current average teacher salary in the city of Chicago is $70,000. Additionally, the union is demanding that any members who are laid off be first in line for new jobs. This would not allow a principal the flexibility to hire the best teacher for the job, but the one that the union says is “next in line.” And finally, the union takes issue with a new teacher evaluation system which would be based partially on students’ standardized test scores.
But Tampa’s schools aren’t any better and in some cases worse than Chicago’s. Below are the Chicago, IL and Tampa, FL public schools numbers according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nation’s Report Card in math and reading:
This week the Adam Hasner for US House Campaign launches the “It’s About Math” informational series. Between now and Election Day, Adam will be focusing on the real numbers and real issues of great importance to the residents of Florida’s District 22.
“So many people I speak with, regardless of political party, are sick and tired of the name calling and scare tactics,” Adam Hasner said. “What they really want to know is whether or not you have a plan to get America’s fiscal house in order and get our economy moving again. Every day I am talking about just that. I’m hopeful this debate can be about the real differences I have with my opponent on getting spending under control, creating jobs and improving the lives of people in our community. Solving our nation’s problems isn’t about Republicans or Democrats or any political philosophy. It’s about math.”
A key number from the August jobs report released last week was 368,000. That is the number of Americans who stopped looking for work and are no longer counted in the US labor force by the United States Labor Department. (Wall Street Journal, Five Key Takeaways from Jobs Report, 9/7/12).
“This number itself is telling, but it also says more about the individual stories of the college student who can’t find a job, a dad who got laid off, a mom who’s working less hours than she wants to or needs to, a senior who’s had to go back to work to make ends meet because they lost their retirement savings,” said Hasner.
“Behind this number are the stories of the people who are losing hope and beginning to believe that our country’s best days are behind us. It’s distressing that people are giving up. We can do better and they deserve better.
“While the official unemployment rate hovers above 8% for the 43rd consecutive month – perpetuating the slowest economic recovery in decades – Lois Frankel continues to distract attention from spending and the economy and remains silent about what should we do to create jobs.
“That’s most likely because she knows her record on job creation as Mayor was abysmal. Lois Frankel entered office in West Palm Beach with the city’s unemployment rate at 5.4%. But by the time she left office 8 years later, the unemployment rate in her city had climbed to 10.6%. The numbers prove that she didn’t have solutions for West Palm Beach and she’s failed to offer any ideas on how to get our nation’s economy back on track.
“Mayor Frankel continues to support the same misguided Washington policies that for the last 43 months have been failing small businesses, families and hard-working Americans.
“Both parties got us into this mess, but now isn’t the time to point fingers and place blame. It’s time for a new approach:
We must reform the current tax code to make it flatter, fairer, and simpler and eliminate loopholes and exemptions.
We must eliminate hurdles to form new businesses and right-size regulations that are currently stifling economic growth with red tape and compliance costs and do it with a balanced approach that protects our natural resources and protects consumers.
We must unleash the power of Made in America energy with new technologies for safe development of domestic oil and natural gas. Affordable energy is a key factor in creating jobs and attracting companies to bring manufacturing jobs back home.
We must also focus on education and worker training initiatives to get the long term unemployed back to work.
“What small businesses need is certainty, knowing what to expect so they can make critical decisions to hire new employees, invest in new equipment, and expand their operations.
“It’s time for common-sense policies that will empower private sector job creation to help Main Street get back on its feet and get America’s economy back on the move.
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-10 13:48:382012-09-10 13:48:38Hasner Campaign: Both Parties Created This Jobs Crisis
On November 6, 2012 Floridians will be asked to vote on eleven amendments to the state constitution. Of these amendments Amendment 8 has become the flash point with groups favoring and opposing passage digging in their heels. The war on words has become a full-fledged battle for the hearts and minds of voters.
The proposed ballot question reads:
Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution providing that no individual or entity may be denied, on the basis of religious identity or belief, governmental benefits, funding, or other support, except as required by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and deleting the prohibition against using revenues from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.
The proposed measure would amend Section 3 of Article I of the Florida Constitution to read:
There shall be no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof. Religious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace, or safety. No individual or entity may be discriminated against or barred from receiving funding on the basis of religious identity or belief. No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.
Vote No on 8 states, “Amendment 8, the so-called ‘Religious Freedom’ Amendment, isn’t about Religious Freedom at all. Amendment 8 actually allows the government to give our tax dollars to any group claiming to be a religious organization.”
Say Yes on 8 states, “Amendment 8 preserves time-honored partnerships between government and social service organizations. Amendment 8 ensures continued delivery of social services by faith-based organizations, lowering government costs for taxpayers. Amendment 8 eliminates discrimination against churches and religious institutions that provide social services.”
Amendment 8, if passed, would take the Blaine Amendment out of the Florida Constitution. The Blaine Amendment refers to constitutional provisions that exist in 38 of the 50 state constitutions in the United States, which forbid direct government aid to educational institutions that have any religious affiliation. The Blaine Amendment was originally aimed at Catholics, most notably the Irish, who had immigrated to the U.S. and started their own parochial schools.
In 2002, the United States Supreme Court in the Zelman v. Simmons-Harris decision partially vitiated these Blaine amendments when it ruled that vouchers were constitutional if state funds followed a child to a privately chosen school, even if it were religious. For a voucher program to be constitutional it must meet all of the following criteria: the program must have a valid secular purpose; aid must go to parents and not to the schools; a broad class of beneficiaries must be covered; the program must be neutral with respect to religion; and there must be adequate nonreligious options.
Billy Atwell in an editorial for the Diocese of Venice in Florida states, “Some support the work of faith-based institutions, but disagree with these institutions accepting government money. They fear faith-based groups would become beholden to the mighty arm of government. Shouldn’t these groups be allowed to serve those in need and do what they do well? It is one thing to say faith-based groups shouldn’t accept government dollars—it is entirely different to outlaw their eligibility for these funds. The current law also flies in the face of religious freedom. Singling out capable social service providers simply because they are faith-based is fiscally unsound and, without a doubt, discrimination.”
While the arguments used by each group focus on religious freedom the real issue is control of taxpayer dollars for K-12 education.
For many it boils down to money, particularly money for K-12 schooling flowing into charter or private faith-based schools. Proponents argue that parents should decide where their child goes to school and the money allocated by the state should follow the child. That is not the case in Florida. Public education fits the definition of a monopoly. This amendment would free parents from being forced into a particular public school. School choice would be empowered if Amendment 8 passes by giving the funding for the child directly to the parent.
Florida Representative Stephen Precourt, a spokesman for the Say Yes on 8 campaigns, stated, “They shouldn’t be telling a group that just because you’re faith-based organization you shouldn’t be participating in the market! Education is a marketplace.”
The ballot question boils down to: Should public funding for education follow the child?
Tampa, FL – The Education Coalition announces a 9/11 Remembrance in Tampa. Randy McDaniel with the Coalition says: “This gathering in Tampa is both a commemoration of the attack on America by Islamic Jihadists and a protest against terror organization.”
McDaniel explains, “CAIR/HAMAS is a terrorist organization and it’s Tampa spokesman, Hassan Shibly has been permitted to speak in Tampa schools. We believe that this is offensive to the memory of 3000 innocent Americans killed by Islamic terrorists on 9/11/2001, and it is offensive that Hassan Shibly, a representative of CAIR is allowed to address our children. The Hillsborough School Board has enabled Shibly to speak in the Steinbrenner School and they have refused to reverse course.
“We have assembled great speakers and patriots to speak out against CAIR/HAMAS in our schools and against the goal of Radical Islam to impose Sharia Law in America,” notes McDaniel.
A list of speakers and the program agenda follows:
ITINERARY (NOTE: Buses for travel can be arranged from select cities):
11:30 am: Attend the annual 9/11 Prayer Vigil with Jesten Peters at Joe Chillura Park across the street from the Hillsborough County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa Florida.
1:00 pm: Meet & Assemble at Joe Chillura Park, march (2 blocks) to the School Board for Rally & Press Conference at the Hillsborough County School Board, 901 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa Florida. Rally open to all who oppose CAIR in the Classroom. Respectfully request that you join us & share this information with all like minded PATRIOTS in your sphere of influence… this is a statewide request.
2:00 pm: Press Conference in front of Hillsborough County School Board. Contact Terry Kemple tkemple@integrity.com or Randy McDaniels actjacksonville@gmail.com if your organization would like to participate in the press conference.
3:00 pm: Comments for formal policy to ban CAIR in front of board members. In event our item is removed from the agenda, comments will be at 5:00 pm by select representatives of the Education Coalition. All others can break for dinner and travel to church at this time for briefing and screening of “Losing our Sons” at The River Church.
5:45 pm: Doors open at the River Church for briefing Nationally Recognized Speakers listed above and others to be named later. The River Church is located at 3738 River International Drive, Tampa Florida, 33610.
6:30 – 9:00 pm: 9/11 ceremony, Security Briefing and screening of “Losing our Sons”.
Government is famous for wasting time and money all at the expense of taxpayers. The greatest waste has been attributed to the “green movement” and its efforts to save the planet by controlling human activities, such as emissions of CO2. This political and uniquely unscientific movement has led the Florida legislature to create comprehensive planning legislation, implement caps on carbon emissions and most recently create an Energy Economic Zone (EEZ) pilot project.
Sarasota County has established by ordinance an Energy Economic Zone. The first public hearings on the EEZ pilot project in Sarasota County are being held in September. Citizens and business will learn what the EEZ is all about. But what is end purpose of an EEZ? What will be accomplished by establishing an EEZ in Sarasota County?
My answer: The greatest expansion of local government power over your and my pursuit of happiness.
1. Any governmental expansion of power always meets with stiff public resistance and the EEZ is meeting stiff resistance. The EEZ has been denounced with bi-partisan support in Sarasota County. Neighborhood associations, anti-growth proponents and Democrats are standing shoulder to shoulder with TEA Party groups, 912 Project members and the Republican Party of Sarasota Executive Committee to denounce this project and its attempt to control the lives of citizens.
2. Economic zones do not work. County Commissioner Nora Patterson in an e-mail to an opponent of the EEZ states, “Our existing enterprise zone [in Newtown] is truly a depressed area and I can tell you in advance that the overall situation has not improved, in fact quite the opposite given the economic downturn.” So Commissioners know that enterprise zones do not work from the Newtown failure. Why throw good money after bad? Because it feels good to do so. The EEZ is being driven by ideology, not by any proven method to create jobs or expand the economy in Florida.
3. One of the purposes of the EEZ is to create energy efficiencies and thereby reduce energy usage. This is a FALSE premise as greater efficiency leads inextricably to greater energy usage. This phenomenon is called the “rebound effect”. Increasing the efficiency of lighting encourages us to illuminate more. This means that we need more energy, not less to meet future demand, expected to increase by 30% over the next decade. The EEZ concept is a fallacy, even if the five sitting County Commissioners believe in this fallacy, it is still a fallacy.
4. The incentives provided in the ordinance as currently written are not defined. This makes the ordinance open to broad interpretation by staff in its implementation. We have experienced what happens when bureaucrats are given the leeway to implement policy in Florida. This has happened with numeric water standards being imposed on the state by the Environmental Protection Agency. Placing Draconian standards on water quality to save us from ourselves. Standards that cannot be met!
5. The incentives are front loaded without regard to clearly defined end results. Under the current proposed ordinance businesses would be awarded incentive grants in addition to tax abatements for job creation. The business would promise to create new “green jobs”. This is a failed model, see reason #2 above. You and I do not pay a business until the job is done. In this case County government is so trusting that they will pay upfront for a promise of future job creation. The County has tried this recently with Sanborn studios. Sanborn Studios closed its Lakewood Ranch facility in December 2011 after just one year in operation. The company that promised to produce Hollywood movies, TV shows and create more than 100 jobs in Sarasota got a $650,000 grant from Sarasota County. It is good to learn from experience right?
6. The EEZ is “crony capitalism” writ large. Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, and so forth. The proposed ordinance establishing an EEZ is the ultimate example of crony capitalism. Government picks the winners and losers, not the free markets. This always leads to corruption and political favoritism.
7. Government does not create jobs! The great myth is that government can via incentives create something from nothing. Jobs are created only when a business cannot meet the market demand for its products or services. That is an economic fact. What can government do to help create a market for a product or service? Nothing, absolutely nothing. What government can do best is to do the least. That is to say government is best that governs least. Protecting property rights is the role of government.
8. All of the County Commissioners are Republicans dedicated to limited government and the U.S. Constitution. The Republican Party of Sarasota Executive Committee passed a resolution condemning “local ‘sustainable development’ policies such as Smart Growth, Wildlands Project, Resilient Cities, Regional Visioning Projects, and other ‘Green’ or ‘Alternative’ projects.” The EEZ falls squarely into all of these categories! A copy of the full resolution was presented to each Commissioner.
9. The County’s attempt to establish an EEZ has led to at least one law suit. According to Kathy Attunes, “The EEZ and attached Enterprise Zone incentives are separate statutes. It can be argued that the Enterprise Zone statutes exist independently of the EEZ statute (377.809), and these state Enterprise Zone statutes apply independent of any local eligibility requirements and a $300,000 cap. The EEZ green standards and $300,000 cap are not outlined in the Enterprise Zone statutes; the statutes do not mirror each other. We are concerned that the EEZ statute and linked Enterprise Zone incentives are in conflict, which potentially sets the County up for litigation brought by businesses who have met Enterprise Zone criteria but not County EEZ standards. We do not want the BCC to proceed with a program that opens the door to a flood of untargeted Enterprise Zone tax breaks, and the possibility of having local control negated by state statute.” I agree more litigation will follow.
10. Finally, this is just bad public policy and a waste of taxpayer money.
There are many other reasons why the EEZ is bad policy for Sarasota County but in the interest of brevity I have listed only my top ten.
I do not need nor want government telling me how to save energy. I am perfectly able doing that on my own. If I wish to waste energy then I will pay an economic price for that behavior. That is how personal freedom and free markets work. Government forcing choices upon me is morally wrong. The EEZ is morally wrong!
https://drrichswier.com/wp-content/uploads/danger-sign-e1386786365929.jpg312398Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-09 07:45:542013-12-11 13:26:32Danger: Energy Economic Zone Ahead
Jobs are top of mind during the 2012 election cycle. Elected officials from President Obama on down are touting their pro-economic growth records and job creation skills. Sarasota County is no exception. It is appropriate to review their on going efforts to “create jobs” in Sarasota County, FL.
In April 2009 Sarasota County released its Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan. The Five-Year Plan states, “Community and business leaders have made it clear that a shotgun approach will no longer work. This proposed plan is based on five guiding principles: Promote the growth/health of existing businesses; Create an environment that promotes homegrown businesses and innovation; Diversify the economy through platforms that build on our unique assets; Make strategic plays in emerging markets; Leverage resources and investments to grow capacity to pursue economic opportunities.”
The plan may be characterized as the County Commission’s “jobs bill”. The strategic plan, now in its third year, recognized that the recession had hit Sarasota.
Based upon the strategic plan, the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners on September 15, 2010 passed Resolution 2010-199. It created a goal to “promote economic activity in the County by providing economic incentives that will encourage diverse new businesses to relocate to Sarasota County and current businesses to expand.” One of the things created was an “economic development fund” and an incentives or awards program. One of the purposes is to attract new or help expanding companies that “provide an above-average wage to its employees”.
The resolution goes into great detail to lay out a series of “Economic Development Factors” that “shall be applied when the Board makes its determination on ad valorem tax exemptions to a requesting business”. But what about guidelines for the “economic development fund”? This question is germane as the fund has already given out $4,482,303 with an additional $5,527,797 in awards remaining to be paid. The $10 million for this “fund” came from the sale of foreclosed properties and collection of unpaid County property taxes. Click here to view the 2012 Economic Development report to the County (slides 65-68).
Jeff Maultsby, Manager of Business and Economic Development, Steve Botelho and Lisa Damschroder from the Office of Financial Planning and Joan McGill, Vice President of Business Development at the Economic Development Corporation, said there is no system in place to select the best candidates to meet the goals established by the County Commission. As of now there is no way to accurately determine any return on investment to the County from these awards (staff indicated the purchase of a software program may to help address this).
Here is an analysis of the County economic development efforts to date:
Of the $4.48 million awarded, PGT received $600,00 and Tervis Tumbler $450,00 (two awards) given since 2010, for a combined total payout of $1,050,000 (23% of all awards to date). These two companies actually added the following: PGT – 432 jobs, Tervis Tumbler – 413 jobs. PGT and Tervis Tumbler added 845 or 80.6% of 1,048 jobs created to date under this awards program.
This would seem like a big win for the County until one drills down a little deeper.
As Resolution 2010-199 states the County Commission wants to attract and expand businesses with an “above-average wage”. The average wage for all industries in Sarasota County according to the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research is $38,660.
According to County staff the actual average wages are: PGT $24,335 (initially projected average wage of $29,500), Tervis Tumbler $26,572 (initially projected average wage of $31,500). Both companies fell well short of the existing County average wage of $38,660: PGT 38% lower and Tervis Tumbler 31% lower. If the County wanted above-average wages they did not get them with these two companies. Even the “projected average wages” for each company were below the County average wage.
If the goal is above-average wages then why give money to any company projecting below-average wages?
Would these jobs have been created without the County awards? According to PGT President Rodney Hershberger the company was planning to close its plant in North Carolina in the 2006-2007 time frame due to the housing slump. The greatest concern was a lack of land and buildings. In the middle of 2010 PGT began looking at options to move the equipment and employees to Florida, with Sarasota, Jacksonville and Miami as possible sites. PGT primarily serves customers in Florida with impact (hurricane) windows and the North Carolina plant was half impact and half non-impact windows. The plant would be closed and operations moved closer to its Florida market. The intent was to move employees to Florida. However, due to deep family roots at the NC plant only 30 employees actually relocated to Sarasota County. Sarasota was always the top choice because this is where PGT was founded and its the central home location, which best serves its impact windows market. Rodney said of the newly hired employees about 70% live in Sarasota, 10% in Manatee County and 20% in Charlotte County. According to Tim Graham, VP of Human Resources for Tervis Tumbler, “Through the assistance provided to Tervis by the EDC grant we were able to substantially increase our production capacity and employment at Tervis.” PGT used its award to off set the cost of moving equipment. Tervis used its two awards to off set impact fees.
Why did Sarasota County taxpayers invest over $1 million in two well established local companies?
Let’s take a look at the remaining 203 jobs “created” to date. Forty-one had an average wage below the County average. The remaining 162 jobs had an average wage of $52,496 or 36% higher than the County average. This average wage increase was offset by the 886 below-average wage jobs.
There remain award commitments of over $5.5 million for the creation of a “projected” 1260 jobs. Will these create more above-average wage jobs? According to the County spreadsheet the companies yet to produce jobs have a “projected average wage” of $50,232. The “actual average wage” of jobs created by these companies to date is $43,368 or 14% lower than the currently projected wages. Another issue is most of the money given to date was given up front before any jobs were created. The current contracts give companies anywhere from 1 to 6 years to actually create the jobs. It should be noted that only recently do the contracts with the County state that the awards will not be made until after the jobs are created. I believed they learned a harsh lesson from $650,000 awarded to Sandborn Studios on September 2, 2010 with no jobs created to date.
Finally, there are nine awards listed on the Economic Development Incentives spreadsheet to either other governments (e.g. City of North Port Economic Development Study, City of Sarasota Newtown Business Assistance Program) or non-profit agencies (e.g. SCOPE – Institute for the Ages, Rev 3 Triathlon). How does a triathlon attract companies offering above-average jobs you may ask? The monies allocated to these governmental and non-profit entities total $3.84 million or 70% of all remaining awards. This allocation of funding is interesting for two reasons 1) there is no system to measure jobs created by inter-governmental transfers and 2) there is already in place a competitive system to allocate funds to non-profit organizations run by the same office that runs this business incentive awards program. This system has been totally bypassed using these “business” awards to non-profits. The awards may violate the intent if not the verbiage of the County Resolution 2010-199 “to relocate and expand existing businesses”. I did not know the County wanted more non-profits who don’t pay taxes to the County!
The Sarasota County Commission took money owed to taxpayers and redistributed it to a stimulus program that: lacked strict/measurable criteria for awarding the money, created jobs that by enlarge offer below-average wages and has no accurate way to measure any return on the taxpayers investment to the County.
The Sarasota County Commission on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 voted unanimously to repeal and replace Resoluton 2010-199 related to economic incentives provided for businesses that relocate to the county.
David E. Merrill, Sarasota business owner and former Mayor of the City of Sarasota, in a September 8, 2012 email to the County Commissioners stated, “So that you don’t look as foolish as Charlie Christ and the city and county commissioners in St. Lucie, I urge you to stop giving ‘corporate welfare’ checks to companies in the name of economic development, and, instead, focus on building a really great community through wise urban design and a focus on aesthetics and quality-of-life issues. Let the bankers and investors fund private businesses, not our governments.”
Government does not create jobs, profits do. The more products produced the more profit generated. As demand rises, profits rise and more workers are needed to provide the product or service offered. Without profit there can be no job growth. Government must take profits from one company and redistribute it to another to meet government’s goals.
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-09 05:43:312012-09-09 05:43:31Sarasota County’s 2009 Jobs Plan – An Analysis
Jeffrey S. Solochek, staff writer for the Tampa Bay Times, reports, “Florida’s next education commissioner needs to have room to do the job without political interference, state Board of Education members said Friday as they set requirements for the vacancy.”
But do the Commissioners really want to stop political interference?
The Florida Board of Education (BOE) is itself political. Outgoing Chairwoman Kathleen M. Shanahan has held federal and state public policy positions of chief of staff for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, chief of staff to Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, deputy secretary of the California Trade and Commerce Agency, special assistant to then Vice President George Bush, and staff assistant on President Reagan’s National Security Council.
Vice Chairman Roberto Martinez, a lawyer, served as Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission; Special Counsel to Attorney General Charlie Crist; and as Chairman of the District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College; Chair of Attorney-Elect Charlie Crist’s transition; General Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush during the gubernatorial transition.
Solochek quotes Martinez as saying, “The person has to be able to deal with the political process. But I think all of us … need to understand we need to give that person a lot of autonomy so they can function professionally with minimal interference from the political folks.”
On September 7, 2012 the State Board of Education moved forward with the search for the next Commissioner of Education approving the candidate profile developed by Ray and Associates. The search firm is conducting a nationwide search for Florida’s chief education officer who will be responsible for all aspects of the state’s Pre-K-20 education system. The deadline for applications is Sept. 27, 2012.
The Florida Legislature and Board of Education have come under fire from citizens with two actions that have disenfranchised students, parents and citizens.
The first action was removing citizen participation in the selection of text books used in Florida’s public schools. More recently the BOE unanimously voted to lower school passing scores after 2011 FCAT scores plummeted. This lowering of school passing scores occurred after political pressure from teachers unions, the superintendents association and school boards across Florida.
The Florida based Textbook Action Team (TAT) in May, 2011 became outraged with a provision in SB 2120 lines 118-120, which was passed by the Republican led legislature. The provision cuts out lay people from the State Instructional Materials Committee.
“Today all of Florida’s public school textbooks will be selected by bureaucrats, not citizens and parents” notes Sheri Krass, State Chairperson for TAT. Krass stated in a letter to Governor Scott, “Now, in a boldfaced attempt to avoid having to seat some of these individuals on the Committee, your State Legislature has passed SB 2120 which employs ‘three state or national experts in the content areas submitted for adoption’ to review the instructional materials and evaluate the content for alignment with the applicable Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. This move allows them to continue to deprive our students of the quality education they deserve.”
The second action was lowing the passing scores of public schools statewide.Cara Fitzpatrick, Shelly Rossetter and Jefferry S. Solochek of the Tampa Bay Timesin their article “After FCAT scores plunge, state quickly lowers the passing grade” reported, “After conceding that poor communication with teachers could have contributed to the unprecedented plunge in Florida students’ writing scores this year, the state Board of Education voted Tuesday to lower the passing mark for the test.”
Teachers and administrators have known about the new testing standards for over a year. Teachers and school administrations actually write the Sunshine State Standards, the test questions and administer the tests. Many parents and citizens do not accept the premise that there was a communication gap. The new standards require that a student use proper sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. Each of these are fundamental to learning how to write.
All members of the Florida Board of Education are political appointees. How can politics be taken out of the classroom and replaced by empowered parents, students and citizens?
How do you take politics out of education? Perhaps this video from the Reason Foundation titled “The Machine” will help explain:
00Dr. Rich Swierhttp://drrich.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/logo_264x69.pngDr. Rich Swier2012-09-08 09:11:552012-09-08 09:11:55Do We Really Want a Strong Commissioner of Education?
Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel issued an apology over inflammatory comments made yesterday during an interview at the Democratic National Convention.
In response to being asked if he is a fan of Christianity, as shown in the video below, Siegel said;
“I’m Jewish, I’m not a fan of any other religion than Judaism….The Christians just want us to be there so we can all be slaughtered and converted and bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ.”
Siegel’s statement released today, no doubt coming after someone had a ‘Come to Jesus’ moment with him – pardon the pun;
“I apologize to all Democrats and Floridians for my ill chosen words last night. After watching the interview I realize that what I said did not accurately make the point I was trying to establish. More importantly I apologize to all Christians, Jews and other people of faith for any embarrassment or anger my remarks may have caused. Throughout my life I have practiced religious tolerance among all people of faith. I am sincerely sorry for any remarks I made that may have diminished that record. I alone am responsible for my remarks and I pray that they are not taken as the position of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.”
Watch the video of Siegel making his statement at the DNC:
UPDATE: Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel has resigned.
Florida is #1 in Paid Political Ads
/in Featured, News, Politics/by Dr. Rich SwierNBC’s Domenico Montanaro column, “Ads: A state-by-state breakdown of who’s spending where” states, “Clearly, and not surprisingly, the campaigns see Florida, Ohio, and Virginia as critical. They are far and away Nos. 1, 2, and 3 on the list.”
“Despite the huge influx of money from outside groups, only in Virginia are Romney and allies out in front. In Florida and Ohio, the Super PACs are chipping in just enough to be on par with Obama,” notes Montanaro.
Montanro’ list of ad spending by state:
1. Florida – $117.4 million
2. Ohio – $112.1 million
3. Virginia – $85.7 million
4. North Carolina – $56.5 million
5. Colorado – $54.2 million
6. Iowa – $46.6 million
7. Nevada – $38.2 million
8. New Hampshire – $25.3 million
9. Pennsylvania – $19.3 million
10. Wisconsin – $8.1 million
11. Michigan – $8 million
12. Minnesota – $3.2 million
13. New Mexico – $49,000
Spending in Florida by group/organization/party:
Team Obama: $58.9 million
Team Romney: $54.4 million
Romney $14,589,522
Am Crossroads $12,509,348
Crossroads GPS $12,293,037
AFP $9,014,582
Restore $7,819,601
Am Future Fund $1,359,061
Am Energy All $854,325
RNC $6,635
Team Romney $31,340,606
Obama $44,206,441
Priorities $12,713,685
SEIU $1,475,589
Planned Parenthod $447,657
MoveOn $64,359
ACLU $17,060
Team Obama $58,924,791
TOTAL: $117.4 million
Total booked on TV and radio this presidential general election: $575 million.
Marriage Reduces Child Poverty in Florida By 78%
/in Culture War, Economy, Must Read/by Dr. Rich SwierColumn courtesy of Robert Rector from The Heritage Foundation:
The continuing collapse of marriage in America, along with a dramatic rise in births to single women, is the most important cause of childhood poverty. In Florida, for example, seven of every 10 poor families with children are headed by a single parent, most of them mothers.
Only 7 percent of married couples with children in Florida were poor in 2009, compared with a third of single-parent families with children (33.4 percent). In Florida, marriage drops the probability of a child’s living in poverty by 78 percent.
Such state numbers on marriage and poverty mirror the national ones. Ignoring the positive impact of marriage on children leads to faulty government policies. It’s tragic, really.
On Sept. 12, the U.S. Census Bureau is set to release its annual poverty report. We’re likely to hear that more than 16 million children in America — about one in five — are poor. Clearly the current recession with its high unemployment pushed up these numbers. But the fact is the child poverty rate was high before the recession and will remain so after it ends.
In 2010, nearly half of all children born in Florida were born outside marriage. Sadly, the women most likely to have children without being married are those with the least ability to support children financially on their own. About 75 percent of births to Florida women who are high school dropouts occur outside marriage. Among women who are college graduates, only 11.5 percent of births are out of wedlock.
America is splitting into two economic castes: In the top, children are raised by married couples with a college education. In the bottom, children are raised by single mothers with a high school diploma or less.
Policymakers at the state and national level, of course, know that education reduces poverty. But they’re largely unaware that marriage is an equally strong anti-poverty weapon. Remarkably, being married is as strong a factor in reducing poverty as graduating from high school. In Florida, married couples with children are 74 percent less likely to be poor than single-parent families with the same level of education.
The nation wisely spends billions of dollars a year to educate low-income children, and billions more for means-tested welfare aid for single mothers. But, despite the massive impact of marriage in reducing poverty, government does little or nothing to discourage births outside marriage — and nothing to encourage healthy marriages.
Many common misconceptions persist. This isn’t about teen pregnancy: Most non-marital births occur to women in their early 20s. Girls under 18 account for only about seven of every 100 births outside marriage. Also, lack of access to birth control isn’t a significant factor.
Some claim unmarried fathers just aren’t “marriageable.” In fact, the overwhelming majority are. These fathers have jobs and, on average, have higher earnings than the mothers. If they remained in the home, child poverty would drop dramatically.
Are low-income single mothers hostile to marriage? No. Research shows most look quite favorably on the institution. They simply don’t see marriage as something that should come before the baby carriage. The result is sustained high levels of child poverty and a host of related social problems.
We need to develop new policies that build on these positive attitudes about marriage. Policymakers and ordinary citizens, looking at these numbers, should demand that government provide facts about the value of marriage to at-risk youth.
For instance, government ought to connect low-income couples with community resources to help them learn, or relearn, skills needed to build and sustain healthy marriages — before they bring children into the world.
It’s also imperative to reform the welfare system to encourage rather than penalize marriage.
Just as government discourages young people from doing drugs or dropping out of school, it should expose the severe shortcomings of the “child first, marriage later” philosophy — especially in low-income communities. Then we will begin to lift millions of children out of poverty.
ABOUT ROBERT RECTOR:
Robert Rector, is a leading authority on poverty and the welfare system, is senior research fellow in domestic policy at The Heritage Foundation. He is author of the new report “Marriage: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty” with related papers and charts for Florida and the other states.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Mark Mather from the Population Reference Bureau reports, “In the United States, the number of children in single-mother families has risen dramatically over the past four decades, causing considerable concern among policymakers and the public. Researchers have identified the rise in single-parent families (especially mother-child families) as a major factor driving the long-term increase in child poverty in the United States.” To read the full report click here.
Pro-Islamist Protesters Try To Shout Down Tampa 9/11 Event
/in Featured, National Security, News/by Dr. Rich SwierRob Shaw from Tampa Bay Online reports, “As many Americans observed a quiet remembrance of the deadly terrorist attacks 11 years ago on American soil, the scene Tuesday outside the Hillsborough County School District was anything but solemn. There was screaming. There was shouting. There were angry words and finger pointing.”
The pro-Islamic protesters were concerned about “insults to Islam”. Pro-Islamic protesters carried signs saying “No hate in Hillsborough,” another said “Racist jerks go home”. A young Jewish protester carried a sign stating, “This Jew Stands with our Muslim Brothers”. It is unclear if he meant the Muslim Brotherhood that has taken control in Egypt, attacked the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and has called for the destruction of Israel.
Tampa was a more peaceful confrontation than in other areas in the Middle East. There were over fifty peaceful citizens who were at the school board to remember the events on 9/11 and ask the Hillsborough County School Board to ban the group CAIR from speaking to students. CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holyland Foundation trial. The FBI directly linked CAIR to the terrorist organization HAMAS during the trial.
While the pro-Islamic protesters were few in number they were loud, shouting “Stop the War”. At one point the organizers of the 9/11 event began chanting “No More Debt” acknowledging Admiral Mullins, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who testified before Congress that “the greatest threat to our national security is our national debt.”
Many there to remember those lost on 9/11 tried to engage the protesters in dialogue. Several of the pro-Islam protesters called those assembled dirty names and tried to take over the 9/11 remembrance event. However, the event organizers were civil and engaging.
It is noteworthy that four Tampa police officers on motorcycles and uniformed security for the Hillsborough School Board stood by and did nothing to keep the two groups separated. Rather the police allowed the pro-Islamic protesters to cross the street and confront face-to-face those there to peacefully commemorate 9/11.
Terry Kemple, who helped organize the 9/11 rememberance, stated, “This is not anti-Muslim, this is talking about groups with ties to terrorism. We want to let the school board know there’s more than a few of us who believe that. We want the people in America to wake up.” Kemple is running for the Hillsborough County School Board.
UPDATE: ISLAMISTS DRAG DEAD BODY OF US AMBASSADOR THROUGH THE STREETS OF BENGHAZI! Warning graphic images.
VIDEO: U.S. embassies in both Cairo and Benghazi were targeted over alleged “insults” to Islam.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement regarding riots in Libya and Egypt that resulted in the murder of America’s ambassador to Libya and three members of his staff:
“I am deeply saddened and troubled by the mob attacks in Libya that led to the murder of our ambassador and three members of his staff. I had the chance of meeting Ambassador Chris Stevens during his confirmation process and again when I visited Libya last year. He was an exemplary diplomat and his embassy staff could not have been more helpful and knowledgeable during my visit. My prayers are with the families and loved ones of these courageous diplomats who were working to help the Libyan people rise from the ashes of Gaddafi’s rule.
“It is imperative that these senseless mob attacks be condemned by the Libyan government and that it commit to stop this violence and bring those responsible for the deaths of our American diplomats to justice. In both Libya and Egypt, their governments have an obligation to resolutely condemn these violent attacks and protect American diplomatic missions and personnel based on their soil.
“The Libyan and Egyptian people should understand that the U.S. shares their commitment to building more hopeful and prosperous nations. However, if left unchecked, violent attacks like these against our embassies and diplomats will lead Libya and Egypt down a dark path and rob them of their hopes of a more prosperous and democratic future. The broader publics in Libya and Egypt should condemn the violence and distance themselves from the unruly and intolerant elements of their society that threaten the security and future of their nations.”
RELATED COLUMNS:
CAIR, creeping Shari’ah, and Hillsborough County School Board enablers by Laura Rambeau Lee
U.S. Ambassador to Libya Is Killed
Krauthammer to Egyptian Protesters: ‘Go to Hell’
U.S. Ambassador to Libya Killed On 9/11
/in Featured, National Security, News/by Dr. Rich SwierThe last time a U.S. Ambassador was killed was in 1979 during the Carter Administration. Tamim Elyan and Omar al-Mosmari from Reuters report:
J. Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other embassy staff were killed in a rocket attack on their car, a Libyan official said, as they were rushed from a consular building stormed by militants denouncing a U.S.-made film insulting the Prophet Mohammad.
Gunmen had attacked and burned the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi, a center of last year’s uprising against Muammar Gaddafi, late on Tuesday evening, killing one U.S. consular official. The building was evacuated.
UPDATE: ISLAMISTS WITH DEAD BODY OF U.S. AMBASSADOR IN BENGHAZI! Warning graphic images.
The Libyan official said the ambassador, Christopher Stevens, was being driven from the consulate building to a safer location when gunmen opened fire.
“The American ambassador and three staff members were killed when gunmen fired rockets at them,” the official in Benghazi told Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from the State Department in Washington. U.S. ambassadors in such volatile countries are accompanied by tight security, usually travelling in well-protected convoys. Security officials will be considering whether the two attacks were coordinated.
Libyan deputy prime minister Mustafa Abu Shagour condemned the killing of the U.S. diplomats as a cowardly act.
The consular official had died after clashes between Libyan security forces and Islamist militants around the consulate building. Looters raided the empty compound and some onlookers took pictures after calm returned.
In neighboring Egypt, demonstrators had torn down an American flag and burned it during the protest. Some tried to raise a black flag with the words “There is no God but God, and Mohammad is his messenger”, a Reuters witness said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a statement late on Tuesday, confirmed the death of the U.S. consular diplomat in Libya, who was not identified, and condemned the attack there; but she made no mention of an attack on the Ambassador’s car.
RELATED VIDEO:
Sam Bacile’s “The Muhammad Movie” was used as the excuse by Libyans to fuel the murder of three consulate members including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The film was release in July 2012 but only recently translated into Arabic and distributed in the Middle East.
RELATED COLUMNS:
Anti-Islam filmmaker in hiding after protests
What Does Krauthammer Say to Rioting Islamists Who Destroyed our American Flag on 9/11 Anniversary?
Allen West Releases Ad Hitting Dems for Rejecting God
/in News, Politics/by Dr. Rich SwierRepresentative Allen West (FL-22) is the first Republican to release an ad hitting Democrats for rejecting God three times during the Democrat National Convention.
According to Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com. “”The first Republican ad is out that hits Democrats for initially rejecting God and then booing adoption of an emergency amendment to the party platform adding God back in after coming under heavy criticism nationwide.”
“The add, sponsored by the congressional campaign of Florida pro-life Rep. Allen West, features both footage of Democrats loudly rejecting the amendment and booing it after its eventual adoption as well as footage of talking heads like Democratic strategist Paul Begala calling the ordeal an embarrassment for the Democratic Party,” notes Ertelt.
Here is Congressman West’s ad:
This is the paragraph that was in the 2008 platform and became the center of this controversy:
“We need a government that stands up for the hopes, values, and interests of working people, and gives everyone willing to work hard the chance to make the most of their God-given potential.”
Now the words “God-given” have been removed. The paragraph has been restructured to say this:
“We gather to reclaim the basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the most prosperous nation on Earth – the simple principle that in America, hard work should pay off, responsibility should be rewarded, and each one of us should be able to go as far as our talent and drive take us.”
Democrats Reveal Voter Fraud in Florida
/in Elections, Featured/by Dr. Rich SwierTom Tillison of Florida Political Press reports of, “A Democratic candidate in Maryland, Wendy Rosen, dropping out of her congressional race after her own party told state officials that she had committed fraud by voting in both Maryland and Florida in recent elections.”
“The Maryland Democratic Party has discovered that Ms. Rosen has been registered to vote in both Florida and Maryland since at least 2006; that she in fact voted in the 2006 general election both in Florida and Maryland; and that she voted in the presidential preference primaries held in both Florida and Maryland in 2008,” wrote Yvette Lewis, the state party chair,” notes Tillison.
Watchdog Wire recently reported on the problem of dual registration in Florida and referred to it as the “Snow Bird Scandal“.
Russ Buettner, New York Daily News staff writer, wrote in an August 2004 article titled “Registered to Vote in City & Fla.“, “Some 46,000 New Yorkers are registered to vote in both the city [of New York] and Florida, a shocking finding that exposes both states to potential abuses that could alter the outcome of elections, a Daily News investigation shows.”
“Registering in two places is illegal in both states, but the massive snowbird scandal goes undetected because election officials don’t check rolls across state lines. The News found that between 400 and 1,000 registered voters have voted twice in at least one election, a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. One was Norman Siegel, 84, who is registered as a Republican in both Pinellas Park, Fla., and Briarwood, Queens. Siegel has voted twice in seven elections, including the last four presidential races, records show,” writes Buettner.
Matthew Hay Brown, of The Baltimore Sun, reports, “Rosen, 57, a Cockeysville businesswoman and Maryland voter, told The Baltimore Sun that she registered to vote in Florida several years ago in order to support a “very close friend” running for the St. Petersburg City Council and to vote on local issues there.
“Rosen said she was able to register in Florida because she owned property there,” writes Brown.
Some states like Kansas have banded together to cross check voter rolls with bordering states. No action has been taken to date by Florida to work with those who have a residence in another state to determine if they are registered or have voted in both Florida and their home state.
Perhaps the Rosen problem is bigger than Florida wants to admit? Some are asking when will Florida address the dual registration issue?
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Maryland Democrat exits congressional race due to allegations of voter fraud
9/11 Anniversary Lost in Presidential Race
/in National Security, Politics/by Dr. Rich Swier11 years following attack American Muslim Organization calls on candidates to maintain vigilance in the fight against radical ideology
PHOENIX (September 11, 2012) The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is calling on President Obama and presidential candidate Governor Mitt Romney to use the eleventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to reengage the national discussion into the root causes of this horrible attack that claimed nearly 3,000 American lives.
With the understandable concerns over the U.S. economy driving the 2012 president race, both the Administration and the Romney campaign seem to be content to not engage on important issues in the global arena. But eleven years since the attacks on our country the U.S. still has done little to address the ideology of political Islam which is the root cause that led Al Qaeda and 19 hijackers to attack our country. In fact with the Islamist political victories in the Middle-East since the “Arab Spring” it is clear that the ideology of political Islam, and the radicalism that is borne within the ideology, are growing in a post 9-11 world.
“We need our national leaders to reengage on the 9/11 issue,” said Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, author of the boook A Battle for the Soul of Islam. “The threat that the United States faces is ever more real and it needs a national focus on fighting an ideology that is at complete odds with American Liberty. President Obama and Governor Romney need to be advocating for a Liberty Doctrine in the Middle East so that we can eventually have an impact on the breeding ground of hatred against our country.”
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy has long advocated that the solution to the ideological war against militant Islamism is the development of a Liberty Doctrine. The United States needs to develop an unfaltering commitment to advocating the principles of our country. These ideas are the greatest tool we have to combat the morally bankrupt ideologies that have shackled the people of the Middle East for generations. As we saw with the fall of communism it is the ideals of individual liberty and freedom that can change the world.
“The lesson from the attacks of 9/11 is that the U.S. has to enter the ideological battle against our enemies,” said Jasser. “We can no longer idly sit by and allow the secular fascists and the theocrats to destroy movements for liberty. If we can become champions for liberty in the Middle East, we can begin to inoculate the people of the region to the supremacist mindset that creates the ideological underpinnings of Islamist inspired terrorism.”
About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy:
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit the website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.
Putting Adults Before the Kids
/in Education, Featured/by Dr. Rich SwierMark D’Alessio at the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce points out a few facts about the dismal performance of Chicago public schools:
As of 12:00 a.m. this morning, more than 26,000 teachers in Chicago officially went on a union-led strike impacting 400,000 kids in 675 schools. The first Chicago teachers strike in 25 years was brought upon the city’s children and their parents as a result of failed negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Chicago Public School officials. Some topics of negotiation include teacher evaluations, guaranteed wage increases, and health benefits.
Although the details of the contract negotiations are murky, according to the Wall Street Journal, preliminary demands from the Chicago Teachers Union included a 19% salary raise in the first year. The current average teacher salary in the city of Chicago is $70,000. Additionally, the union is demanding that any members who are laid off be first in line for new jobs. This would not allow a principal the flexibility to hire the best teacher for the job, but the one that the union says is “next in line.” And finally, the union takes issue with a new teacher evaluation system which would be based partially on students’ standardized test scores.
But Tampa’s schools aren’t any better and in some cases worse than Chicago’s. Below are the Chicago, IL and Tampa, FL public schools numbers according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the Nation’s Report Card in math and reading:
Chicago, Illinois NAEP Report Card Scores:
8th grade math
8th grade reading
Tampa, Florida NAEP Report Card Scores:
8th grade math
8th grade reading
Hasner Campaign: Both Parties Created This Jobs Crisis
/in Budget and Finance, Economy/by Dr. Rich SwierThis week the Adam Hasner for US House Campaign launches the “It’s About Math” informational series. Between now and Election Day, Adam will be focusing on the real numbers and real issues of great importance to the residents of Florida’s District 22.
“So many people I speak with, regardless of political party, are sick and tired of the name calling and scare tactics,” Adam Hasner said. “What they really want to know is whether or not you have a plan to get America’s fiscal house in order and get our economy moving again. Every day I am talking about just that. I’m hopeful this debate can be about the real differences I have with my opponent on getting spending under control, creating jobs and improving the lives of people in our community. Solving our nation’s problems isn’t about Republicans or Democrats or any political philosophy. It’s about math.”
A key number from the August jobs report released last week was 368,000. That is the number of Americans who stopped looking for work and are no longer counted in the US labor force by the United States Labor Department. (Wall Street Journal, Five Key Takeaways from Jobs Report, 9/7/12).
“This number itself is telling, but it also says more about the individual stories of the college student who can’t find a job, a dad who got laid off, a mom who’s working less hours than she wants to or needs to, a senior who’s had to go back to work to make ends meet because they lost their retirement savings,” said Hasner.
“Behind this number are the stories of the people who are losing hope and beginning to believe that our country’s best days are behind us. It’s distressing that people are giving up. We can do better and they deserve better.
“While the official unemployment rate hovers above 8% for the 43rd consecutive month – perpetuating the slowest economic recovery in decades – Lois Frankel continues to distract attention from spending and the economy and remains silent about what should we do to create jobs.
“That’s most likely because she knows her record on job creation as Mayor was abysmal. Lois Frankel entered office in West Palm Beach with the city’s unemployment rate at 5.4%. But by the time she left office 8 years later, the unemployment rate in her city had climbed to 10.6%. The numbers prove that she didn’t have solutions for West Palm Beach and she’s failed to offer any ideas on how to get our nation’s economy back on track.
“Mayor Frankel continues to support the same misguided Washington policies that for the last 43 months have been failing small businesses, families and hard-working Americans.
“Both parties got us into this mess, but now isn’t the time to point fingers and place blame. It’s time for a new approach:
“It’s time for common-sense policies that will empower private sector job creation to help Main Street get back on its feet and get America’s economy back on the move.
The Battle Over Florida’s Amendment 8 Begins
/in Budget and Finance, Education, Hot Topics/by Dr. Rich SwierOn November 6, 2012 Floridians will be asked to vote on eleven amendments to the state constitution. Of these amendments Amendment 8 has become the flash point with groups favoring and opposing passage digging in their heels. The war on words has become a full-fledged battle for the hearts and minds of voters.
The proposed ballot question reads:
Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution providing that no individual or entity may be denied, on the basis of religious identity or belief, governmental benefits, funding, or other support, except as required by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and deleting the prohibition against using revenues from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.
The proposed measure would amend Section 3 of Article I of the Florida Constitution to read:
There shall be no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting or penalizing the free exercise thereof. Religious freedom shall not justify practices inconsistent with public morals, peace, or safety. No individual or entity may be discriminated against or barred from receiving funding on the basis of religious identity or belief.
No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in aid of any sectarian institution.Two groups launched websites explaining Amendment 8: Say Yes on 8 and Vote No on 8.
Vote No on 8 states, “Amendment 8, the so-called ‘Religious Freedom’ Amendment, isn’t about Religious Freedom at all. Amendment 8 actually allows the government to give our tax dollars to any group claiming to be a religious organization.”
Say Yes on 8 states, “Amendment 8 preserves time-honored partnerships between government and social service organizations. Amendment 8 ensures continued delivery of social services by faith-based organizations, lowering government costs for taxpayers. Amendment 8 eliminates discrimination against churches and religious institutions that provide social services.”
Amendment 8, if passed, would take the Blaine Amendment out of the Florida Constitution. The Blaine Amendment refers to constitutional provisions that exist in 38 of the 50 state constitutions in the United States, which forbid direct government aid to educational institutions that have any religious affiliation. The Blaine Amendment was originally aimed at Catholics, most notably the Irish, who had immigrated to the U.S. and started their own parochial schools.
In 2002, the United States Supreme Court in the Zelman v. Simmons-Harris decision partially vitiated these Blaine amendments when it ruled that vouchers were constitutional if state funds followed a child to a privately chosen school, even if it were religious. For a voucher program to be constitutional it must meet all of the following criteria: the program must have a valid secular purpose; aid must go to parents and not to the schools; a broad class of beneficiaries must be covered; the program must be neutral with respect to religion; and there must be adequate nonreligious options.
Billy Atwell in an editorial for the Diocese of Venice in Florida states, “Some support the work of faith-based institutions, but disagree with these institutions accepting government money. They fear faith-based groups would become beholden to the mighty arm of government. Shouldn’t these groups be allowed to serve those in need and do what they do well? It is one thing to say faith-based groups shouldn’t accept government dollars—it is entirely different to outlaw their eligibility for these funds. The current law also flies in the face of religious freedom. Singling out capable social service providers simply because they are faith-based is fiscally unsound and, without a doubt, discrimination.”
While the arguments used by each group focus on religious freedom the real issue is control of taxpayer dollars for K-12 education.
For many it boils down to money, particularly money for K-12 schooling flowing into charter or private faith-based schools. Proponents argue that parents should decide where their child goes to school and the money allocated by the state should follow the child. That is not the case in Florida. Public education fits the definition of a monopoly. This amendment would free parents from being forced into a particular public school. School choice would be empowered if Amendment 8 passes by giving the funding for the child directly to the parent.
Florida Representative Stephen Precourt, a spokesman for the Say Yes on 8 campaigns, stated, “They shouldn’t be telling a group that just because you’re faith-based organization you shouldn’t be participating in the market! Education is a marketplace.”
The ballot question boils down to: Should public funding for education follow the child?
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Tampa 9/11 Commemoration and Rally
/in National Security/by Dr. Rich SwierTampa, FL – The Education Coalition announces a 9/11 Remembrance in Tampa. Randy McDaniel with the Coalition says: “This gathering in Tampa is both a commemoration of the attack on America by Islamic Jihadists and a protest against terror organization.”
McDaniel explains, “CAIR/HAMAS is a terrorist organization and it’s Tampa spokesman, Hassan Shibly has been permitted to speak in Tampa schools. We believe that this is offensive to the memory of 3000 innocent Americans killed by Islamic terrorists on 9/11/2001, and it is offensive that Hassan Shibly, a representative of CAIR is allowed to address our children. The Hillsborough School Board has enabled Shibly to speak in the Steinbrenner School and they have refused to reverse course.
“We have assembled great speakers and patriots to speak out against CAIR/HAMAS in our schools and against the goal of Radical Islam to impose Sharia Law in America,” notes McDaniel.
A list of speakers and the program agenda follows:
ITINERARY (NOTE: Buses for travel can be arranged from select cities):
11:30 am: Attend the annual 9/11 Prayer Vigil with Jesten Peters at Joe Chillura Park across the street from the Hillsborough County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa Florida.
1:00 pm: Meet & Assemble at Joe Chillura Park, march (2 blocks) to the School Board for Rally & Press Conference at the Hillsborough County School Board, 901 E. Kennedy Blvd., Tampa Florida. Rally open to all who oppose CAIR in the Classroom. Respectfully request that you join us & share this information with all like minded PATRIOTS in your sphere of influence… this is a statewide request.
2:00 pm: Press Conference in front of Hillsborough County School Board. Contact Terry Kemple tkemple@integrity.com or Randy McDaniels actjacksonville@gmail.com if your organization would like to participate in the press conference.
3:00 pm: Comments for formal policy to ban CAIR in front of board members. In event our item is removed from the agenda, comments will be at 5:00 pm by select representatives of the Education Coalition. All others can break for dinner and travel to church at this time for briefing and screening of “Losing our Sons” at The River Church.
5:45 pm: Doors open at the River Church for briefing Nationally Recognized Speakers listed above and others to be named later. The River Church is located at 3738 River International Drive, Tampa Florida, 33610.
6:30 – 9:00 pm: 9/11 ceremony, Security Briefing and screening of “Losing our Sons”.
Danger: Energy Economic Zone Ahead
/in Energy, Environment, Featured, Opinion/by Dr. Rich SwierGovernment is famous for wasting time and money all at the expense of taxpayers. The greatest waste has been attributed to the “green movement” and its efforts to save the planet by controlling human activities, such as emissions of CO2. This political and uniquely unscientific movement has led the Florida legislature to create comprehensive planning legislation, implement caps on carbon emissions and most recently create an Energy Economic Zone (EEZ) pilot project.
Sarasota County has established by ordinance an Energy Economic Zone. The first public hearings on the EEZ pilot project in Sarasota County are being held in September. Citizens and business will learn what the EEZ is all about. But what is end purpose of an EEZ? What will be accomplished by establishing an EEZ in Sarasota County?
My answer: The greatest expansion of local government power over your and my pursuit of happiness.
Here are ten reasons why I believe the Sarasota County EEZ will fail:
1. Any governmental expansion of power always meets with stiff public resistance and the EEZ is meeting stiff resistance. The EEZ has been denounced with bi-partisan support in Sarasota County. Neighborhood associations, anti-growth proponents and Democrats are standing shoulder to shoulder with TEA Party groups, 912 Project members and the Republican Party of Sarasota Executive Committee to denounce this project and its attempt to control the lives of citizens.
2. Economic zones do not work. County Commissioner Nora Patterson in an e-mail to an opponent of the EEZ states, “Our existing enterprise zone [in Newtown] is truly a depressed area and I can tell you in advance that the overall situation has not improved, in fact quite the opposite given the economic downturn.” So Commissioners know that enterprise zones do not work from the Newtown failure. Why throw good money after bad? Because it feels good to do so. The EEZ is being driven by ideology, not by any proven method to create jobs or expand the economy in Florida.
3. One of the purposes of the EEZ is to create energy efficiencies and thereby reduce energy usage. This is a FALSE premise as greater efficiency leads inextricably to greater energy usage. This phenomenon is called the “rebound effect”. Increasing the efficiency of lighting encourages us to illuminate more. This means that we need more energy, not less to meet future demand, expected to increase by 30% over the next decade. The EEZ concept is a fallacy, even if the five sitting County Commissioners believe in this fallacy, it is still a fallacy.
4. The incentives provided in the ordinance as currently written are not defined. This makes the ordinance open to broad interpretation by staff in its implementation. We have experienced what happens when bureaucrats are given the leeway to implement policy in Florida. This has happened with numeric water standards being imposed on the state by the Environmental Protection Agency. Placing Draconian standards on water quality to save us from ourselves. Standards that cannot be met!
5. The incentives are front loaded without regard to clearly defined end results. Under the current proposed ordinance businesses would be awarded incentive grants in addition to tax abatements for job creation. The business would promise to create new “green jobs”. This is a failed model, see reason #2 above. You and I do not pay a business until the job is done. In this case County government is so trusting that they will pay upfront for a promise of future job creation. The County has tried this recently with Sanborn studios. Sanborn Studios closed its Lakewood Ranch facility in December 2011 after just one year in operation. The company that promised to produce Hollywood movies, TV shows and create more than 100 jobs in Sarasota got a $650,000 grant from Sarasota County. It is good to learn from experience right?
6. The EEZ is “crony capitalism” writ large. Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, and so forth. The proposed ordinance establishing an EEZ is the ultimate example of crony capitalism. Government picks the winners and losers, not the free markets. This always leads to corruption and political favoritism.
7. Government does not create jobs! The great myth is that government can via incentives create something from nothing. Jobs are created only when a business cannot meet the market demand for its products or services. That is an economic fact. What can government do to help create a market for a product or service? Nothing, absolutely nothing. What government can do best is to do the least. That is to say government is best that governs least. Protecting property rights is the role of government.
8. All of the County Commissioners are Republicans dedicated to limited government and the U.S. Constitution. The Republican Party of Sarasota Executive Committee passed a resolution condemning “local ‘sustainable development’ policies such as Smart Growth, Wildlands Project, Resilient Cities, Regional Visioning Projects, and other ‘Green’ or ‘Alternative’ projects.” The EEZ falls squarely into all of these categories! A copy of the full resolution was presented to each Commissioner.
9. The County’s attempt to establish an EEZ has led to at least one law suit. According to Kathy Attunes, “The EEZ and attached Enterprise Zone incentives are separate statutes. It can be argued that the Enterprise Zone statutes exist independently of the EEZ statute (377.809), and these state Enterprise Zone statutes apply independent of any local eligibility requirements and a $300,000 cap. The EEZ green standards and $300,000 cap are not outlined in the Enterprise Zone statutes; the statutes do not mirror each other. We are concerned that the EEZ statute and linked Enterprise Zone incentives are in conflict, which potentially sets the County up for litigation brought by businesses who have met Enterprise Zone criteria but not County EEZ standards. We do not want the BCC to proceed with a program that opens the door to a flood of untargeted Enterprise Zone tax breaks, and the possibility of having local control negated by state statute.” I agree more litigation will follow.
10. Finally, this is just bad public policy and a waste of taxpayer money.
There are many other reasons why the EEZ is bad policy for Sarasota County but in the interest of brevity I have listed only my top ten.
I do not need nor want government telling me how to save energy. I am perfectly able doing that on my own. If I wish to waste energy then I will pay an economic price for that behavior. That is how personal freedom and free markets work. Government forcing choices upon me is morally wrong. The EEZ is morally wrong!
Sarasota County’s 2009 Jobs Plan – An Analysis
/in Economy, Must Read, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by Dr. Rich SwierJobs are top of mind during the 2012 election cycle. Elected officials from President Obama on down are touting their pro-economic growth records and job creation skills. Sarasota County is no exception. It is appropriate to review their on going efforts to “create jobs” in Sarasota County, FL.
In April 2009 Sarasota County released its Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Plan. The Five-Year Plan states, “Community and business leaders have made it clear that a shotgun approach will no longer work. This proposed plan is based on five guiding principles: Promote the growth/health of existing businesses; Create an environment that promotes homegrown businesses and innovation; Diversify the economy through platforms that build on our unique assets; Make strategic plays in emerging markets; Leverage resources and investments to grow capacity to pursue economic opportunities.”
The plan may be characterized as the County Commission’s “jobs bill”. The strategic plan, now in its third year, recognized that the recession had hit Sarasota.
Based upon the strategic plan, the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners on September 15, 2010 passed Resolution 2010-199. It created a goal to “promote economic activity in the County by providing economic incentives that will encourage diverse new businesses to relocate to Sarasota County and current businesses to expand.” One of the things created was an “economic development fund” and an incentives or awards program. One of the purposes is to attract new or help expanding companies that “provide an above-average wage to its employees”.
The resolution goes into great detail to lay out a series of “Economic Development Factors” that “shall be applied when the Board makes its determination on ad valorem tax exemptions to a requesting business”. But what about guidelines for the “economic development fund”? This question is germane as the fund has already given out $4,482,303 with an additional $5,527,797 in awards remaining to be paid. The $10 million for this “fund” came from the sale of foreclosed properties and collection of unpaid County property taxes. Click here to view the 2012 Economic Development report to the County (slides 65-68).
Jeff Maultsby, Manager of Business and Economic Development, Steve Botelho and Lisa Damschroder from the Office of Financial Planning and Joan McGill, Vice President of Business Development at the Economic Development Corporation, said there is no system in place to select the best candidates to meet the goals established by the County Commission. As of now there is no way to accurately determine any return on investment to the County from these awards (staff indicated the purchase of a software program may to help address this).
Here is an analysis of the County economic development efforts to date:
Of the $4.48 million awarded, PGT received $600,00 and Tervis Tumbler $450,00 (two awards) given since 2010, for a combined total payout of $1,050,000 (23% of all awards to date). These two companies actually added the following: PGT – 432 jobs, Tervis Tumbler – 413 jobs. PGT and Tervis Tumbler added 845 or 80.6% of 1,048 jobs created to date under this awards program.
This would seem like a big win for the County until one drills down a little deeper.
As Resolution 2010-199 states the County Commission wants to attract and expand businesses with an “above-average wage”. The average wage for all industries in Sarasota County according to the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research is $38,660.
According to County staff the actual average wages are: PGT $24,335 (initially projected average wage of $29,500), Tervis Tumbler $26,572 (initially projected average wage of $31,500). Both companies fell well short of the existing County average wage of $38,660: PGT 38% lower and Tervis Tumbler 31% lower. If the County wanted above-average wages they did not get them with these two companies. Even the “projected average wages” for each company were below the County average wage.
If the goal is above-average wages then why give money to any company projecting below-average wages?
Would these jobs have been created without the County awards? According to PGT President Rodney Hershberger the company was planning to close its plant in North Carolina in the 2006-2007 time frame due to the housing slump. The greatest concern was a lack of land and buildings. In the middle of 2010 PGT began looking at options to move the equipment and employees to Florida, with Sarasota, Jacksonville and Miami as possible sites. PGT primarily serves customers in Florida with impact (hurricane) windows and the North Carolina plant was half impact and half non-impact windows. The plant would be closed and operations moved closer to its Florida market. The intent was to move employees to Florida. However, due to deep family roots at the NC plant only 30 employees actually relocated to Sarasota County. Sarasota was always the top choice because this is where PGT was founded and its the central home location, which best serves its impact windows market. Rodney said of the newly hired employees about 70% live in Sarasota, 10% in Manatee County and 20% in Charlotte County. According to Tim Graham, VP of Human Resources for Tervis Tumbler, “Through the assistance provided to Tervis by the EDC grant we were able to substantially increase our production capacity and employment at Tervis.” PGT used its award to off set the cost of moving equipment. Tervis used its two awards to off set impact fees.
Why did Sarasota County taxpayers invest over $1 million in two well established local companies?
Let’s take a look at the remaining 203 jobs “created” to date. Forty-one had an average wage below the County average. The remaining 162 jobs had an average wage of $52,496 or 36% higher than the County average. This average wage increase was offset by the 886 below-average wage jobs.
There remain award commitments of over $5.5 million for the creation of a “projected” 1260 jobs. Will these create more above-average wage jobs? According to the County spreadsheet the companies yet to produce jobs have a “projected average wage” of $50,232. The “actual average wage” of jobs created by these companies to date is $43,368 or 14% lower than the currently projected wages. Another issue is most of the money given to date was given up front before any jobs were created. The current contracts give companies anywhere from 1 to 6 years to actually create the jobs. It should be noted that only recently do the contracts with the County state that the awards will not be made until after the jobs are created. I believed they learned a harsh lesson from $650,000 awarded to Sandborn Studios on September 2, 2010 with no jobs created to date.
Finally, there are nine awards listed on the Economic Development Incentives spreadsheet to either other governments (e.g. City of North Port Economic Development Study, City of Sarasota Newtown Business Assistance Program) or non-profit agencies (e.g. SCOPE – Institute for the Ages, Rev 3 Triathlon). How does a triathlon attract companies offering above-average jobs you may ask? The monies allocated to these governmental and non-profit entities total $3.84 million or 70% of all remaining awards. This allocation of funding is interesting for two reasons 1) there is no system to measure jobs created by inter-governmental transfers and 2) there is already in place a competitive system to allocate funds to non-profit organizations run by the same office that runs this business incentive awards program. This system has been totally bypassed using these “business” awards to non-profits. The awards may violate the intent if not the verbiage of the County Resolution 2010-199 “to relocate and expand existing businesses”. I did not know the County wanted more non-profits who don’t pay taxes to the County!
The Sarasota County Commission took money owed to taxpayers and redistributed it to a stimulus program that: lacked strict/measurable criteria for awarding the money, created jobs that by enlarge offer below-average wages and has no accurate way to measure any return on the taxpayers investment to the County.
The Sarasota County Commission on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 voted unanimously to repeal and replace Resoluton 2010-199 related to economic incentives provided for businesses that relocate to the county.
David E. Merrill, Sarasota business owner and former Mayor of the City of Sarasota, in a September 8, 2012 email to the County Commissioners stated, “So that you don’t look as foolish as Charlie Christ and the city and county commissioners in St. Lucie, I urge you to stop giving ‘corporate welfare’ checks to companies in the name of economic development, and, instead, focus on building a really great community through wise urban design and a focus on aesthetics and quality-of-life issues. Let the bankers and investors fund private businesses, not our governments.”
Government does not create jobs, profits do. The more products produced the more profit generated. As demand rises, profits rise and more workers are needed to provide the product or service offered. Without profit there can be no job growth. Government must take profits from one company and redistribute it to another to meet government’s goals.
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Do We Really Want a Strong Commissioner of Education?
/in Education, Must Read, Politics/by Dr. Rich SwierJeffrey S. Solochek, staff writer for the Tampa Bay Times, reports, “Florida’s next education commissioner needs to have room to do the job without political interference, state Board of Education members said Friday as they set requirements for the vacancy.”
But do the Commissioners really want to stop political interference?
The Florida Board of Education (BOE) is itself political. Outgoing Chairwoman Kathleen M. Shanahan has held federal and state public policy positions of chief of staff for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, chief of staff to Vice President-elect Dick Cheney, deputy secretary of the California Trade and Commerce Agency, special assistant to then Vice President George Bush, and staff assistant on President Reagan’s National Security Council.
Vice Chairman Roberto Martinez, a lawyer, served as Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission; Special Counsel to Attorney General Charlie Crist; and as Chairman of the District Board of Trustees of Miami Dade College; Chair of Attorney-Elect Charlie Crist’s transition; General Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush during the gubernatorial transition.
Solochek quotes Martinez as saying, “The person has to be able to deal with the political process. But I think all of us … need to understand we need to give that person a lot of autonomy so they can function professionally with minimal interference from the political folks.”
On September 7, 2012 the State Board of Education moved forward with the search for the next Commissioner of Education approving the candidate profile developed by Ray and Associates. The search firm is conducting a nationwide search for Florida’s chief education officer who will be responsible for all aspects of the state’s Pre-K-20 education system. The deadline for applications is Sept. 27, 2012.
The Florida Legislature and Board of Education have come under fire from citizens with two actions that have disenfranchised students, parents and citizens.
The first action was removing citizen participation in the selection of text books used in Florida’s public schools. More recently the BOE unanimously voted to lower school passing scores after 2011 FCAT scores plummeted. This lowering of school passing scores occurred after political pressure from teachers unions, the superintendents association and school boards across Florida.
The Florida based Textbook Action Team (TAT) in May, 2011 became outraged with a provision in SB 2120 lines 118-120, which was passed by the Republican led legislature. The provision cuts out lay people from the State Instructional Materials Committee.
“Today all of Florida’s public school textbooks will be selected by bureaucrats, not citizens and parents” notes Sheri Krass, State Chairperson for TAT. Krass stated in a letter to Governor Scott, “Now, in a boldfaced attempt to avoid having to seat some of these individuals on the Committee, your State Legislature has passed SB 2120 which employs ‘three state or national experts in the content areas submitted for adoption’ to review the instructional materials and evaluate the content for alignment with the applicable Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. This move allows them to continue to deprive our students of the quality education they deserve.”
The second action was lowing the passing scores of public schools statewide.Cara Fitzpatrick, Shelly Rossetter and Jefferry S. Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times in their article “After FCAT scores plunge, state quickly lowers the passing grade” reported, “After conceding that poor communication with teachers could have contributed to the unprecedented plunge in Florida students’ writing scores this year, the state Board of Education voted Tuesday to lower the passing mark for the test.”
Teachers and administrators have known about the new testing standards for over a year. Teachers and school administrations actually write the Sunshine State Standards, the test questions and administer the tests. Many parents and citizens do not accept the premise that there was a communication gap. The new standards require that a student use proper sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. Each of these are fundamental to learning how to write.
All members of the Florida Board of Education are political appointees. How can politics be taken out of the classroom and replaced by empowered parents, students and citizens?
How do you take politics out of education? Perhaps this video from the Reason Foundation titled “The Machine” will help explain:
Palm Beach County Democrat Chair Attacks Christians
/in Culture War, Featured, Politics/by Dr. Rich SwierCourtesy of Tom Tillison of Florida Political Press:
Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel issued an apology over inflammatory comments made yesterday during an interview at the Democratic National Convention.
In response to being asked if he is a fan of Christianity, as shown in the video below, Siegel said;
“I’m Jewish, I’m not a fan of any other religion than Judaism….The Christians just want us to be there so we can all be slaughtered and converted and bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ.”
Siegel’s statement released today, no doubt coming after someone had a ‘Come to Jesus’ moment with him – pardon the pun;
“I apologize to all Democrats and Floridians for my ill chosen words last night. After watching the interview I realize that what I said did not accurately make the point I was trying to establish. More importantly I apologize to all Christians, Jews and other people of faith for any embarrassment or anger my remarks may have caused. Throughout my life I have practiced religious tolerance among all people of faith. I am sincerely sorry for any remarks I made that may have diminished that record. I alone am responsible for my remarks and I pray that they are not taken as the position of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.”
Watch the video of Siegel making his statement at the DNC:
UPDATE: Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel has resigned.