Life in Charlotte County has not improved significantly except to note it has more people, more roads, more parks and more costs. We do not have many amenities that other, albeit larger, counties have.
We have a wonderful baseball stadium that is used sparingly and despite it being home to the Rays spring training, has no permanent tenant.
We have a wonderful airport that thankfully does not require taxes to run.
We have a harbor that has seen better days and is now less used. We do have Fisherman’s Village and Sunseeker, and that certainly is a plus.
We have 90,000 unbuilt county lots that remain vacant as developers want to build thousands of “cookie cutter” houses on clear land.
We have a county government only too willing to allow the development, with the reason, “they have the right.”
We have a newspaper that too few read and while we have our radio, we have no dedicated local TV.
We have restaurants at all levels and we have schools that, while not “A” rated, are good enough for the disciplined students to get a good education, albeit at an eye watering cost.
All the up-scale development is getting old and, while nicely located and having an inviting canal system, will have to get much older before the oldest is replaced.
We are a county with a decent hospital system, good government services; all at a cost that keeps increasing.
We are a county of small businesses and home services. We have good facilities for our senior citizens with commensurate costs.
We are a county with 36% people considered “poor.” We are a county that has a high rate of mortgage foreclosures and a record number of mortgages that are at least four months “under water.”
If we add this to a state that is suffering from a legislature that cannot see that there is a time to end the encouragement of Florida to be a place for retirees, we will certainly pay for it.
The idea of eliminating ad valorem taxes with no real plan to replace them, says much to the frustration of the average homeowner.
The idea of capping the credit card interest rate at 10% would eliminate credit cards for 71% of the card holders and reduce the limit for the rest.
While some would not care one way or the other, should that happen, the county population would either be sleeping in tents in the woods or leave, hoping to find cheaper living.
Worse, there would be fewer workers to do what is needed for the older population, the sick and the infirm.
The idea of “build it and they will come” is still alive and since few have to fill out a financial report to see if they “qualify,” come with hope and the idea of making it without the necessary money.
We speak of “affordable” housing and while it all sounds good, the market dictates who can afford to live here. We cannot continue to attempt to promote the idea of affordability when the reality of our economic conditions makes the promise more a desire than a reality.
We will be asked to vote for people who speak to their conservative values. I like people who will say no to obvious economic hucksterism at every level.
Money goes where it is most appreciated and must be put to its highest use. All other uses fail. We have had some bad times in the county and should have been anticipated.
I suffer to think how the new developments will fare should we get other back-to-back hurricanes.
Our best assets are the people who give, all out of their ability, donating their time, joining organizations that all need and do willingly.
This is the quality you find in those who have had to work all their lives. There is a moral imperative in these people, despite the lack of gold in their sack.
As the costs continually rise and as people get older, retiring with too few assets, the county will find the ability to meet their obligations, short of raising taxes, an impossibility.
While all this might sound like gloom and doom, it is a possibility that cannot be denied. We have gone a bridge too far and should we fail to have enough water or inadequate waste water disposal, the above might be the best scenario in a much worse situation.
The Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared” is there for a reason.
By Richard, We the People Club blog contributor