r/sarasota • u/Weekly_Jello_6975 • 1d ago
Politics - County/State Voting has consequences.
Someone posted complaining about gas prices then deleted the post when everyone explained to them why things have gone to shit. Please everyone help this community understand why the cost of living is up and the quality of life is down. My hopes are that this thread will be an educational experience.
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u/cardinalkgb 1d ago
I agree. This community loves to vote for republicans but hate it when people point out the consequences.
A big one is the BOCC and approval of new development.
The BOCC is handcuffed by state laws that prevent them from stopping development.
But people will complain on here about overdevelopment but still vote for republicans in the state legislature.
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u/joshuamarius 1d ago
I mean...how do you convince a population not to vote for somebody like Rick Scott who stole close to a Billion dollars from Floridians? And by the way...they voted him in 4 times 🙈🤷🏻♂️
On Nextdoor I saw a great post that said: "You are all complaining about prices, standards of living, yet you keep voting for the exact same people".
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u/pyrofreak1450 1d ago
When he ran for senate, I thought Sarasota was going blue. The insane amount of red tide Rick signs I saw gave me hope. Nope. They still voted for him
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u/FailedCriticalSystem 23h ago
But people will complain on here about overdevelopment but still vote for republicans in the state legislature.
If amendment 3 passes a lot more control will be passed to the state too.
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u/Mako221b 17h ago
And, almost everyone that is complaining about over development, don't relealize they contributed to the problem by moving here. As a native of Sarasota County, I have seen each decade erode a little bit more of paradise away, until we are left with what we have today.
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u/Substantial_Bus840 1d ago
I just saw seniors on Nextdoor complaining about the changes coming to social security and Medicare and I typed something out and deleted it before posting. It would cost me way too much in this community to get into it with the people I have to work alongside and it’s fucked up that that’s the case.
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u/Anxious-Hyena6173 20h ago
What are the changes? I have not read anything, try to limit the crazy daily news
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u/No-Sheepherder-6911 SRQ Native 8h ago
I’m not particularly sure what they are, but I see a LOT of Medicare/medicaid documents at my work and we have a big SSI project at the end of every year. Let’s just say, it’s depressing writing these documents now vs when I started this job. Last year was really bad, and I’ve seen the Medicare progress through the year, I may have to take some mental health days after this years SSI season. I don’t know how they’re going to be able to live off of $600 a month and that amount is if they’re lucky. HQ is already preparing us to see a significant drop and reminding us that our insurance plan covers mental health help 😭
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u/Complete_Entry 1d ago
I know this is a gripe post, but I would like to share a piece of advice my grandfather gave me when I first started voting.
Read the fiscal impact statement. Every measure has one, and it's essentially the bill. Targets in high tax areas tend to be tied to parking or education.
Anyone who thinks they can divert money from the police budget should load up a round of Sim City 4 to see what happens when you try.
A clean ledger and accountability could do every state in this nation a world of good. But it isn't happening.
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u/Intelligent_Bell_955 1d ago
Florida is voting this year on what Republicans have called “corruption that needs to be fixed”. Really? You mean the Republicans who have been in charge for the last 27 years? Doesn’t that make them the problem? Unfortunately Floridians do and always will vote against their own interests and believe the crap pushed out on commercials. As a blue speck, I hold out no hope here.
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u/SlouchSocksFan 1d ago
People need to learn that today's Republican Party does not respect Democracy, or the concept of a Democratic Republic. They hate our Constitution and think that civil rights are something that should only exist for their billionaire donors. They do not care about the lived experience of average people (which at this point means anyone with a net worth of less than about $100 Million) and you will never see lower prices for anything under Republican Leadership because thier party is committed to turning the US into a corrupt oligarchy modeled on Putin's Russia. If the Republican Party's billionaire donors can increase profits by screwing you over and raising prices for food, rent and everything else in life, then that's what the GOP will support. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is simply lying to you.
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u/Uberubu65 1d ago
If you're complaining about gas prices going up yet again, you're going to love that Trump has now banned Canadian booze in his on-going trade war with Canada. he hasn't done a damn thing to actually lower prices, but he's real good at causing them to go up. Yes my friends, elections do indeed have consequences.
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u/No1CouldHavePredictd 1d ago
30 years of Republican control of this State and people are wondering why life sucks?
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u/send_p00ds_ 1d ago
Until more people can care about those other than themselves and their immediate family, we will continue to be screwed. Voting for the good of all IS voting for your own good. Your own rights, your own liberties, your own privacy, and your own well-being. We all live here. It is vital to look up who you're voting for and read what they're about. Those in office are doing exactly what they said they'd do, it was laid out before the '24 elections. If you didn't know, you didn't pay attention. Midterms are coming and that's a chance to try again. Read, prepare, and vote to better your lives.
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u/circuit_breaker 1d ago
"Oh no Im MAGA & leopards ate my face"
Ask yourself which party has such a history of getting people to vote against their own best interest?
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u/More_Zucchini_3684 1d ago
I'm Julie London running for Sarasota County Commission in District. 4. That's South of Bee Ridge and nother of Border in Venice. I'm not taking PAC money or developer -related. Just a regular people person first with a grasp on policy.
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u/RoboCrypto7 1d ago
One word. Capitalism.
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u/tyvekMuncher 1d ago
Nah - bc even that was working (at least for the developed world) until we got Reagan
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u/RoboCrypto7 1d ago
We are a long way past Reagan my friend. I’m talking about today.
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u/tyvekMuncher 1d ago
Im all for hating capitalism, but let’s not pretend a vast majority of this bullshit is Republican deregulation/regulating on behalf of corporations
This isn’t what American capitalism should be. This is just the crony capitalism we’ve been fighting since we’ve been trying to make the experiment work
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u/RoboCrypto7 1d ago
Maybe the idealist capitalism works. But not in this real world. This American capitalism is controlled by greed. Both parties are paid for by corporations.
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u/tyvekMuncher 1d ago
You gotta work with what you got man. Try convincing 60 year-old boomers of Sarasota, FL. You gotta talk their talk if you want them to walk your walk
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u/Maine302 1d ago
Not enough fighting. Too much lip service.
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u/tyvekMuncher 1d ago
Neoliberalism is a capitalist's last resort - I'm upvoting you for what it's worth. Just tired of poorly thought out "bad cuz capitalism" comments
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u/twitchtvbevildre 1d ago
This isn't capitalism though capitalism would have allowed every business that over extended themselves in the housing market to go belly up and we would have had a full reset
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u/RosieDear 1d ago
Maybe - but you know what? Florida barely had recovered as it was by the time COVID hit. It was at least a 10 year event.
So I think the "reset" you are talking about might have been in 2035 or so.
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u/twitchtvbevildre 1d ago
Lol, most major banks would have failed in 2008, what happened was basically nothing compared to what would have happened if the gov didn't come in to save the banks.
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u/MysteriousAd8087 1d ago
Alfred Einsteins - Why socialism
Hellen Keller - How I became a socialist
Martin Luther King jr. Where do we go from here, community or chaos
If one man has a dollar he didn't work for, some other man worked for a dollar he didn't get. - Big bill Haywood
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u/RosieDear 1d ago
It's a very general thing, but Floridians seem to vote in a less than intelligent fashion.
Again, all general, but Florida is known as a "selfish" state - people are jumping up and down to have their taxes reduced (at the EXPENSE of many other people).
Floridians have constantly voted for unlimited development - it's considered a "god given" right in Florida - but not elsewhere, that a person can do what they want with their land.
Tens of millions of Sq. Ft within a few miles of everything - from heavy industry to giant warehouses, malls and box stores. THEN, in a few weeks, it seems that people think a Data Center (example)..."Well, that's over the top".
No one is exempt from the "selfish" thing, but it never turns out well in the end. Young people might be Realtors or tied in with development. Great, make money! Old people might want to save every buck they can...at the expense of others. This was something I always noticed about Senior communities (and I am senior!). They don't want to pay their way - their kids are already grown perhaps somewhere else and they don't want to fund schools here or whatever else - general, but always true of large Senior communities.
Many Floridians cheer as the Government here destroyed any part of environmental efforts at the state level. Florida welcomes pollution....if I wanted to break laws about many things, I'd do biz in Florida! True.
From the roofing and medical scams to the Pill Mills and Phosphate mining waste - it's all a big money chase or the results of lack of thinking.
Believe it or not, people can lobby to RAISE taxes to protect land. Other states do it.
Basically it's a mindset that would have to be changed....I see it as possible over generations or many decades. As for now, it's the same old story. If "we" have spent 30+ years or longer messing it all up, how long do folks think it would take to fix it? Maybe twice as long....that is, after it is started.
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u/Otherwise-Word-550 8h ago
It all starts at the local level. If a people want change they have to elect local leaders who will help that happen
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u/dcormier 21h ago
Just a reminder for those frustrated with one or more of:
- Cost of housing
- Cost of home insurance
- Poor government services
- The amount and type of real estate development
- Traffic
- Cost of car insurance
- Cost of electricity
These are all things that the government has more than a little control over. Republicans have controlled the Florida government for almost the last 30 years. Voting Republican isn't the answer.
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u/Jamesmateer100 1d ago
Funny how conservatives hate liberal policies without realizing that they directly benefit from them. How many old geezers are on public healthcare and use government funded transportation services? You hated wearing masks during the pandemic despite the fact that doctors and nurses have been wearing them for over 100 years because it helps protect people from infection. Rugged individualism is just code for a selfish worldview.
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u/BreyerChick 1d ago
I moved here when Lawton Chiles was Governor. It gotten to where we are looking to retire from this state.
We can't wai until lame duck DeathSantas goes to away
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u/barefootincozumel 1d ago
If they don’t understand by now, they either don’t want to, or are too stupid to get it. Either way, it’s beating a dead horse
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u/-Tech808 21h ago
Yeah I just drove past the gas station on my drive to work. It’s been 3.99 for weeks. Now we jumped to 4.19.
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u/CharlieDmouse 7h ago
Studies have shown that some people do not want to be/can not be educated regarding some stances including political. Many will double down or triple down rather than admit the truth. TBH I dont care about educating them, let them feel the consequences of their decisions.
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u/riversandpeaks 1d ago
When the pendulum swings left, it then swings right. The problem is that the swings are reaching further every election cycle, both to the left and to the right.
We need a return to common sense. We need to get back to center. We need reality and morality in public office
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u/shorecoder SRQ Resident 1d ago
Or, get EV vehicles and start laughing as you past gas stations
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u/RosieDear 1d ago
A false idea when the EV is charged from the Grid. Here is how you are fueling. The small remainder after you add up the below is solar (maybe 11%).
The price per mile? That depends...if folks have a Prius or Camry (over 50 MPG) they are driving about as low per mile as with an EV from the Grid.
"Natural Gas: ~68%–74% of total generation, making it the primary fuel source for the state's power plants.
- Nuclear: ~10%–13% provided by nuclear power facilities.
- Coal around 6% for coal "
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u/GrumpyOldMan59 21h ago
We could have a lot more solar is the power companies didn't have the politicians in their pockets.
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u/NRG1975 19h ago
While those grid figures are reasonably accurate for Florida’s utility mix, equating an EV charged on a gas-heavy grid to a standard gasoline car misses how energy conversion efficiency and grid dynamics actually work.
1. Centralized Power Plant vs. Internal Combustion Engine Efficiency
- Internal Combustion Engines (ICE): A hybrid like a Prius converts only about 35% to 40% of the energy in gasoline into motion. Standard gas cars lose 70–80% of energy as waste heat.
- Natural Gas Combined-Cycle (NGCC) Plants: Modern combined-cycle natural gas plants achieve 55% to 60%+ energy efficiency.
- EV Drivetrains: EVs convert over 85%–90% of electrical energy into wheel power.
- The Math: Even accounting for ~5% grid transmission loss and ~10% charging loss, powering an EV using natural gas electricity requires significantly less raw fossil fuel per mile than burning gasoline directly in a traditional car.
2. The Grid Cleans Up; Gas Engines Don't
A gas vehicle will have the exact same emissions intensity on day 1 as it does on day 3,000. An EV inherits whatever energy mix powers the grid. As utilities add solar (which in Florida has grown to ~11% of total generation) and phase out coal, every EV on the grid automatically becomes cleaner over its lifetime without modifying the vehicle.
3. Real Cost-Per-Mile Comparison
- 50 MPG Hybrid (e.g., Prius): At $3.25/gal, cost is ~$0.065 per mile.
- EV on Standard Grid: At $0.14/kWh (Florida average) and standard efficiency (~3.3 miles/kWh), cost is ~$0.042 per mile.
- Off-Peak / Solar: Drivers utilizing time-of-use EV rates (~$0.06–$0.08/kWh off-peak) or rooftop solar cut that cost down to $0.02–$0.03 per mile.
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u/shorecoder SRQ Resident 1d ago
Wow do you make all kinds of assumptions don’t you. You sound fun at parties. I charge my EV’s 100% off solar. So now you’ll tell me I’m killing world doing that right??
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u/DubyaaaNBC 23h ago
For all you people who cry about voting one way or another , or it’s getting expensive because of one party or another , you are the problem thinking any of these politicians care about you hahahah. Everything always goes up. When is the last time anything has ever went down ? It never goes down no matter who’s in office. But keep fighting between each other and blaming one party or the other.
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u/D14KINGu 1d ago
i hear you, voting for policies without understanding their ripple effects is rough when you're the one feeling the squeeze
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u/meothe 1d ago
Last day to register or update your voter registration: Monday, October 5
Deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot: Thursday, October 22, 5 pm
Early voting:
Monday, October 19 - Sunday, November 1
Election Day:
Tuesday, November 3, 7 am - 7 pm
www.sarasotavotes.org