Florida suffers as Marco carries out the Jeb plan

Al’s
Loupe                                                                               Read Spanish Version

Florida
suffers as Marco carries out the Jeb plan

By
Alvaro F. Fernandez
alfernandez@the-beach.net

Monday
I read a headline in The Miami Herald which stated: “S. Florida
lawmakers losing clout.” I wondered: “How can South Florida
lawmakers be losing power when the person in charge of the process is
from South Florida?”

Florida’s
Speaker of the House is Miami’s Marco Rubio. When he was chosen
Speaker, Rubio became the first person of Cuban descent to be named
to this powerful post. At the state level, he is the most powerful
Cuban-American in Florida.

The
Speaker of the House wields tremendous power in Florida’s
legislative system. He has extraordinary say at time of distribution
of almost 70 billion dollars a year in state money collected via
taxes. He has the power to do much good.

I
looked at the legislative situation of the past two years — the time
Rubio has been at the helm. I wanted to understand what the Herald
meant.

As
Speaker, Rubio:

• promised
  to cut taxes in Florida. He did — for the rich and large corporate
  entities. Ask yourself if you
  pay less in taxes today then you did before 2007. Because my
  tax bills keep getting larger.

• cut
  money for public schools. And now under Rubio they are proposing to
  do away with the only dedicated source we have — as part of the
  property taxes — and replace them with an increase in the sales
  tax. Also, expect major cuts in school programs. Don’t be
  surprised to see good teachers leaving too — for other jobs or
  other states — since they are NOT getting paid what they should.
  And speaking of clout, it’s interesting to note how South Florida
  counties have been shortchanged in the past few years when it comes
  to school funding.

• cut
  social services. Some South Florida elderly are having a hard time
  acquiring dentures. Seriously, this is not a joke; it is happening.
  Services have been slashed.

So
it’s true, as powerful as Rubio has become, South Florida has lost
power under him.

A
St. Petersburg Times editorial titled “Tax commission does Bush’s
bidding” helped solve the riddle. The editorial knocks a school
vouchers proposal set forth by the Taxation and Reform Commission. It
states: “Never mind that the Florida Constitution directs the
commission to ‘examine the state budgetary process, the revenue
needs and expenditure processes of the state, the appropriateness of
the tax structure.’ Forget that the public hearings held throughout
Florida were dominated by talk about property taxes. In the end, two
of the seven questions for the Nov. 4 ballot will be about school
vouchers.”

This
commission included three members of former Governor Jeb Bush’s
staff. The editorial also says, “The way the commission put the
items on the ballot hints at the deceptions that lie ahead.”

Yes,
deceptions, school vouchers, taxation, camouflage, trading votes are
all mentioned in the editorial. And all added up to another version
of Jeb’s “devious plan” promised before leaving office.

I
again looked at Rubio’s record. Rubio, I know, came up under Bush,
who mentored him. Suddenly things fell into place.

Things
are not as they appear

Consider
me wacky or a believer in conspiracy theories. But I am convinced Jeb
Bush is behind Marco Rubio’s actions. It makes sense for both. And
I am not implying that Jeb is directly pulling strings with Marco.
No. A long time ago Rubio bought into the Bush plan. Now he’s
simply carrying it out.

Bush
had unfinished business before he left the governor’s mansion.
Through Rubio and others (like the Tax Commission where he still
swings a powerful bat), Bush is leading the charge to privatize
Florida. From schools to tolls on highways, Bush foresees a future
where government will play a smaller and smaller roll in these areas,
while the private sector (and many of his friends) will get richer
running our schools, roads and who knows what else — widening the
disparity between the haves and have-nots.

As
for Rubio, he soon will be termed out of the state legislature. Bush,
his money, and his benefactors’ considerable wealth will be there
to make sure he has a soft landing. Don’t be surprised to see Jeb
by his side if he chooses to run for some other public office. There
has been talk of Miami-Dade mayor…

And
for those who ruled out Jeb’s future presidential chances based on
his brother’s eight years in the White House, I say, give him a
little time. This guy does not quit easily.

As
for devious plans, remember 2000 when most were convinced that George
W. Bush had lost Florida?

Finally,
on a personal level, it saddens me to think that the first Cuban
American Speaker of the Florida House would sell out Floridians,
exactly what Marco Rubio has done.