Coral Gables Property Values–Another Demonstration of “Transparency”

June 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Wondering what he is waiting for–instructions from the “boss.”

Or could it be that he is waiting to see what’s happening with the mysterious Biltmore negotiations?

Or could it be the roll-back millage rate for Coral Gables?

 

Others are taking a wait-and-see approach. Coral Gables Finance Director Don Nelson said he is waiting for more information to get a clearer picture of budget forces before he could comment. The city’s tax base stayed flat at $11.8 billion in the past 12 months.

via South Florida cities find silver lining in real esate news – Miami-Dade – MiamiHerald.com.

Filed under Coral Gables, Property Values

Fl Development Management is Dead

June 4, 2011 Leave a comment

Gov. Scott Signs Damaging HB 7207

Without fanfare, on Thursday, June 2 Gov. Scott signed into law the damaging HB 7207. Among other things, this sweeping growth management legislation virtually eliminates any meaningful state checks and balances over local government decisions, decimates citizens’ ability to effectively challenge decisions, and opens Florida’s rural lands for sprawling development. We thank the dedicated citizens who made numerous calls to their Legislators and the Governor to try to halt this attack on Florida’s quality of life.

Here is some recent newspaper coverage on this issue:

St. Petersburg Times — An obituary for Florida Growth Management, June 5, 2011

Sarasota Herald-Tribune — Gov. Rick Scott reverses 25 years of growth management policy, June 3, 2011.

Palm Beach Post — Growth management loses muscle, June 3, 2011.

Florida Current — DCA positions being filled even as department appears headed towards elimination, June 3, 2011.

Visit 1000 Friends at www.1000fof.org, on Facebook, or Twitter (@floridafriends) to find out the latest on growth management in Florida.

Filed under Economy, Environment, Florida

Ryancare is Not Medicare (Krugman)

June 4, 2011 Leave a comment

Medicare would be gutted by the Ryan proposal–the elderly would get stuck buying their insurance from an uncontrolled cost system: the private insurance companies.

…how does the Ryan plan differ from the Affordable Care Act? After all, in both plans people are supposed to buy coverage from private insurers, with a subsidy from the government.

Well, the answer is that the ACA is specifically designed to ensure that insurance is affordable, whereas Ryancare just hands out vouchers and washes its hands. Specifically, the ACA subsidy system (pdf) sets a maximum percentage of income that families are expected to pay for insurance, on a sliding scale that rises with income. To the extent that the actual cost of a minimum acceptable policy exceeds that percentage of income, subsidies make up the difference.

Ryancare, by contrast, provides a fixed sum — end of story. And because this fixed sum would not grow with rising health care costs, it’s almost guaranteed to fall far short of the actual cost of insurance.

This is also why Ryancare is NOT premium support; it’s a voucher system. No matter how much they say it isn’t, that’s exactly what it is.

via Ryancare Versus Obamacare – NYTimes.com.

Filed under Business and Commerce, National

US (and Coral Gables) Economy in Real Danger

June 4, 2011 Leave a comment

The unfathomable politics of the US is driving the economy into stagnation at a time when there are more than 20 million people unemployed or poorly employed.  Politics is at the worst moment centering current public political warfare on the deficit and the danger of the US bond market coming under attack (I guess from our own financial sector that had been saved by the US government not too long ago).  This translate into deepening social welfare declines, a lost generation of professionals graduating and going into professionally demeaning jobs, if any.

We will now see what leadership emerges in this country now that the growth prospects will hurt not only the middle class, but the business and financial class too.

Today’s employment report should be a wake-up call to policymakers who continue to say the budget deficit is a more immediate threat to the economy than the jobs deficit.  Nearly two years after the economy technically turned the corner from recession to recovery, job growth was disappointing in May and unemployment remained high.  At the same time, interest rates are very low (see chart), indicating that financial markets are far more concerned in the near term about a sluggish recovery than about deficits, debt, or inflation.

via Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the May Employment Report — Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Filed under Coral Gables, Economy, National

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