Bradenton Times News Articles

I took my absentee ballot to the Supervisor of Elections Office Monday. I entered, handed it to the staff member and asked whether it was signed as requested. She said “yes” and then promptly, casually tossed my ballot on top of a stack she had sitting about three feet from her. I poked through some material handouts at the counter, thinking this over. I had several people advise me that this was how their ballots had been handled when they took them to the Supervisor’s office.

A True Political Bureaucrat is ... one who gets up every morning an and asks himself, “Who or What can I tax today?" Never would it cross their minds to even think, How or Where can we save taxpayers money today?

Tuesday's referendum vote on tax abatements is a difficult measure to support. The Bradenton Economic Development Corporation, a public/private partnership that promotes business growth in Manatee County, is championing the policy as a job creator. However, Manatee County already has a model incentive program that provides for a rare level of accountability too often absent in such matters. We feel that blanket, up-front abatements have great potential to drain the tax base without providing adequate measurement or accountability in terms of results.

On Tuesday, Manatee County voters will decide on two important referendums that will have significant impacts on the tax base. The first is a measure to implement an additional half-cent sales tax which would replace current funding for indigent healthcare from a different source, soon to expire. While the measure would benefit certain interests, we find several aspects very troubling and do not feel that it would make for good policy.

The debate over NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and the White House's damage-control tactic of shifting it to a dialog about potential harm to our security should be outweighed by the greater concern his story has revealed. Namely, that our privacy, civil rights and even our voice as to the future of the society in which we live – continues to be hijacked by the joint endeavors of government and corporate America through the growth industry of spying on ourselves. 

It’s very hard to find a silver lining in Florida lawmakers' inability to pass a state solution to the expansion of Medicaid. It’s not going to save the state money and millions of struggling, low-income Floridians will remain uncovered. But perhaps most strikingly, especially in a state where big business has long had its run of things, the legislature’s failure represents significant cost increases for corporations. 

As the Manatee County School District embarks on a new era, guest columnist and former administrative employee Dr. Richard Jackson takes a look back at previous administrations' leadership styles and finds a troubling pattern of a failure to see the big picture, a trend that he seems optimistic will soon come to an end. 

Economic Recovery was the buzzword phrase on last Sunday's news shows, as the White House dispatched wonks to talk about the supposedly good news in the national economy. I'd like nothing more than to be able to join them, only there are too many reasons to be skeptical when you look deeply into the data. The DOW and the “official” unemployment numbers might say one thing, but more telling indicators are singing a different tune. 

In addition to deciding whether or not to impose an extra half-cent healthcare sales tax, Manatee County voters will also decide on whether to create tax abatement incentives when they go to the polls for a two-referendum special election on June 18. Proponents argue that it's a necessary tool to lure jobs to Manatee; but too often, it's been unclear whether such programs actually return more than they give away.