The Coral Gables Museum: A Great Community Asset

October 12, 2010 Leave a comment

For those of us who missed the grand opening there is a wealth of information, videos and photos on the Coral Gables Museum website.  The museum is led by a highly experienced and professional manager, supported by a private foundation and provides great spaces for meetings and regular museum activities.  This is a huge asset for the city given its quality and location.

The Museum’s mission is to celebrate, investigate and explore all aspects of architecture, landscape architecture, design and urban planning as well as historic and environmental preservation, set within the context of one of America’s first and most successful planned communities – the City of Coral Gables.

The Museum is a true public/private partnership between the City of Coral Gables and the Coral Gables Museum Corp., a private, not for profit 501.c.3 corporation operating an educational cultural institution within a City owned facility.  The Museum raises its own operating budget to fund the exhibitions and educational programs it provides, through memberships, private and government grants, admissions, earned income and, most importantly, with contributions from community members who believe in our mission.

via The Coral Gables Museum, Coral Gables, Florida.

Filed under Coral Gables

A “New Agenda” for the City of Coral Gables

October 12, 2010 Leave a comment

Consider a list of issues and proposals for a New Agenda for a newly elected mayor, commissioners (old and new) and the city manager that could be discussed in the coming election campaign.

Help by sending your suggestions and I will include them all in a running list on a separate page on this blog.

Here are some example of what I imagine might be relevant or, at least, good ideas to challenge to candidates.

  • Prepare and discussion a long-range financial plan for the City of Coral Gables;
  • Freeze and/or reduce actual amount of taxes paid by citizens during the next three years;
  • Accelerate a plan of reducing pensions and health benefits, especially for firefighters and police;
  • Prepare a plan on how to reduce unfunded pension liabilities during the next five years;
  • Have a community town hall meeting at least twice a year to discuss the budget and other issues;
  • Develop a realistic and flexible agreement with the Biltmore that protects the taxpayers not just now, but in the coming years;

Filed under Community, Coral Gables, Election, Politics

Did Keynesian Economics Fail?

October 11, 2010 Leave a comment

I admit it.  I am a Keynesian economist frustrated that the Bush/Obama administrations didn’t spend more to counter balance the Great Recession. If you think that they spent too much, that the spending hurt the economy, then read the following  and the full article.

In short, a lot of the spending was for low impact activities and it was small.

Here’s the narrative you hear everywhere: President Obama has presided over a huge expansion of government, but unemployment has remained high. And this proves that government spending can’t create jobs.

Here’s what you need to know: The whole story is a myth. There never was a big expansion of government spending. In fact, that has been the key problem with economic policy in the Obama years: we never had the kind of fiscal expansion that might have created the millions of jobs we need.

via Op-Ed Contributor – Hey, Small Spender – NYTimes.com.

The Chinese government, for example, spent about $500 billion for a stimulus package in a much smaller economy.  (The Chinese economy is about 40%  to 50% of ours measured in real terms and their per capita GDP is about 10 percent of ours.)

Filed under Economy, National

Who is to Blame for the Education Mess?

October 11, 2010 Leave a comment

It is not self-evident that the quality of teaching and teachers are mainly responsible for our education slipping backward?  I think that experience in running complex enterprises is that in some cities and schools it is the teaching that is to blame, in others, it is school management, teaching methods and materials, community culture of education and bad (or good) school boards.

I would place enormous weight on school boards and the community that sets the priorities for education.  Teachers will gravitate to places where teachers are trusted and respected.

I am very suspicious of single approaches to solving big problems.

It’s time for all of the adults — superintendents, educators, elected officials, labor unions and parents alike — to start acting like we are responsible for the future of our children. Because right now, across the country, kids are stuck in failing schools, just waiting for us to do something.

So, where do we start? With the basics. As President Obama has emphasized, the single most important factor determining whether students succeed in school is not the color of their skin or their ZIP code or even their parents’ income — it is the quality of their teacher.

via How to fix our schools: A manifesto by Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee and other education leaders.

Filed under Community, Florida, Miami-Dade County, National

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