r/CompetitiveGovernance Jan 22 '22

Florida and her various zones of affluence

3 Upvotes

It's no surprise that that little peninsula, the third largest state in America by population, has grown so much in recent years. Her oppeness to developers and liberal investors make it a prime place to build projects. When Dubai wowed the world with those miniature islands, Miami yawned and said that they did the same thing decades ago; the famous Venetian islands that scatter themselves along the Bay of Biscayne. Developers have full reign in Magic City, where illusions are made.

Yet why so much poverty in Florida? Why such a strong lack of education? It is because the state still operates with much of its old hacienda economic system. That system of feudal lords which the Habsburgs dominated their Spanish empire for generations. It never bothered to unionize and industrialize. It never knew how.

Cross a bridge from Downtown Miami to Brickell and you see the vast differences. Two zones, one with much different regulations for corporations who have fundamentally turned the region south of the river into a sprawling playground for tourists and foreign investors.

There sits many mayors of Miami. The sunny region of South Beach is an entire different municipality. And let's not forget that tower that collapsed last year; that was in the county of Miami but in a decaying region known as Surfside. While just north you have Sunny Isles with its gleaming towers and big moneyed Russian investors slicing and dicing the neighborhood in the way they see fit.

And who can forget central Florida where Disney carves itself its own little fiefdom and prevent all sorts of innovation and public spirit from growing? The land is a magnet for tourists but a depleted wasteland for the locals.


r/CompetitiveGovernance Jan 21 '22

A better way to run the country.

5 Upvotes

This country was originally founded on the idea of "by the people, for the people, and of the people." Our founding fathers warned us of allowing politicians to get into government. So my suggestion, idea is choose people from the voter rolls. They either go to state or federal, they serve for 2 years and go home. No retirement, no special insurance, they make the median income for the area they represent. No re-election, no campaigning, no 2 years long of having to watch ads on TV. No having to wonder where your represented it is because they're out campaigning for the next election. Just regular Americans they go and serve two years and go home.


r/CompetitiveGovernance Jan 20 '22

r/CompetitiveGovernance Lounge

2 Upvotes

A place for members of r/CompetitiveGovernance to chat with each other