I walked through the Highlands section of Jacksonville, FL off Broward Road near the Trout River in Duval County within Precinct 08X. Similar to other communities that have water front properties, the further removed from the water, the less affluent the neighborhood becomes. As such, the interest and concerns of the people change as well.
I found most of the people with whom I spoke very helpful, some even referring others to me. Most all liked my message that education/lifelong learning was more important than transportation related issues, such as high speed rail, to solving the ills of the district.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Despair in Interlachen, FL
I visited Interlachen, FL several miles west of Palatka, FL in Putnam Co. While people were friendly to me, I sensed despair, which I attribute to a poor economy and the lack of work in town.
I met one man who has been out of work for over a year. He and I spoke for about an hour. He felt that most politicians had lost touch with people like him. Others in town seemed to have the same feeling. I think it boils down to a buy vs. build decision. As I see it, politicians buy a campaign machine at the expense of building a grassroots organization comprised of volunteers.
While most politicians probably prefer to utilize a grassroots approach, they revert to buying a campaign machine because of two main challenges, which are:
1. Human nature; people do not work for free unless there is something in it for them; and
2. Building an effective grassroots campaign is hard and time consuming. Most politicians do not have the skill set (i.e. selling the intangible, ideas to get people motivated to volunteer) and the time to go door-to-door to jump start the process.
Therefore, politicians end up pursuing those with dollars (typically special interest) at the expense of ignoring a sizable amount of the voter base until they no longer can, which is around election time. However, I think people are getting frustrated with their elected officials and are more willing to volunteer.
Just think if more people got involved with campaigns by taking an hour or two out of the month to spread the word about candidates, then candidates may begin to shift their focus. In doing so, politicians will become more accountable to their true constituents (i.e. voter base), which in theory should lead to better legislation.
I met one man who has been out of work for over a year. He and I spoke for about an hour. He felt that most politicians had lost touch with people like him. Others in town seemed to have the same feeling. I think it boils down to a buy vs. build decision. As I see it, politicians buy a campaign machine at the expense of building a grassroots organization comprised of volunteers.
While most politicians probably prefer to utilize a grassroots approach, they revert to buying a campaign machine because of two main challenges, which are:
1. Human nature; people do not work for free unless there is something in it for them; and
2. Building an effective grassroots campaign is hard and time consuming. Most politicians do not have the skill set (i.e. selling the intangible, ideas to get people motivated to volunteer) and the time to go door-to-door to jump start the process.
Therefore, politicians end up pursuing those with dollars (typically special interest) at the expense of ignoring a sizable amount of the voter base until they no longer can, which is around election time. However, I think people are getting frustrated with their elected officials and are more willing to volunteer.
Just think if more people got involved with campaigns by taking an hour or two out of the month to spread the word about candidates, then candidates may begin to shift their focus. In doing so, politicians will become more accountable to their true constituents (i.e. voter base), which in theory should lead to better legislation.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Of The House Healthcare Bill
A more appropriate solution to our healthcare challenge is establishing a task force rather than enacting a healthcare bill (as passed with a very narrow majority in the US House) that fails to address the primary issue. The primary issue is affordability, either due to low income by an individual or high cost for services and products sold to an individual. When we balance the humanitarian component with the financial component, we are more likely to build a solution that benefits all. Both parties share responsibility for the current mess because it has taken us decades to get here. A task force focused more on solving problems and less on politics will most likely come up with a better solution for America than what can come from our Congress.
If the current bill, as passed by the US House, is enacted:
1. The Good is that more Americans will have greater and easier access to healthcare, which undoubtedly benefits a sizeable percentage of people living in Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3).
2. The Bad is that there will be losers, which builds resentment with those that lost.
3. The Ugly is that our country will be worse off in the future because the primary issue of affordability (that makes healthcare inaccessible) was never solved and in the end those that should benefit most will most likely suffer once again, which is not good for CD-3 long-term.
Point 1 from above should be easily understood, what might not be are Points 2 and 3. Anytime there is vocal opposition, as we have seen in response to the healthcare legislation, then there are losers, perceived and/or real. Most people in business (which is totally different than politics) know that all parties should win in the formation of a deal.
With the current healthcare reform, the President and the controlling party in Congress are trying to ram down some people’s throats a bill that they distaste. This will build resentment and is bad for our country long-term. We need to work together.
We cannot put the parties on a couch or put them in a room to work out their problems so instead we need to turn over the process of crafting a workable solution to a neutral party comprised of experienced healthcare consultants. The consultants would get paid their normal fee for their work, but would also receive incentives over time for achieving milestones such as reducing the cost of providing healthcare from currently 16% of GDP to 11% of GDP (inline with other industrialized nations) while making healthcare accessible to those that currently do not have it.
This will not be easy and it will take time. I suspect it will be a multiple step process that will take ten (10) years or more. There will be an initial research phase followed by implementation of some items followed by evaluation and additional researched followed by ... and so on until we arrive to a solution that the majority of Americans (not elected officials) initially agreed upon.
If the current bill, as passed by the US House, is enacted:
1. The Good is that more Americans will have greater and easier access to healthcare, which undoubtedly benefits a sizeable percentage of people living in Florida Congressional District 3 (CD-3).
2. The Bad is that there will be losers, which builds resentment with those that lost.
3. The Ugly is that our country will be worse off in the future because the primary issue of affordability (that makes healthcare inaccessible) was never solved and in the end those that should benefit most will most likely suffer once again, which is not good for CD-3 long-term.
Point 1 from above should be easily understood, what might not be are Points 2 and 3. Anytime there is vocal opposition, as we have seen in response to the healthcare legislation, then there are losers, perceived and/or real. Most people in business (which is totally different than politics) know that all parties should win in the formation of a deal.
With the current healthcare reform, the President and the controlling party in Congress are trying to ram down some people’s throats a bill that they distaste. This will build resentment and is bad for our country long-term. We need to work together.
We cannot put the parties on a couch or put them in a room to work out their problems so instead we need to turn over the process of crafting a workable solution to a neutral party comprised of experienced healthcare consultants. The consultants would get paid their normal fee for their work, but would also receive incentives over time for achieving milestones such as reducing the cost of providing healthcare from currently 16% of GDP to 11% of GDP (inline with other industrialized nations) while making healthcare accessible to those that currently do not have it.
This will not be easy and it will take time. I suspect it will be a multiple step process that will take ten (10) years or more. There will be an initial research phase followed by implementation of some items followed by evaluation and additional researched followed by ... and so on until we arrive to a solution that the majority of Americans (not elected officials) initially agreed upon.
Working Class Just Getting By
I visited the Ortega Hills area near the Jacksonville Naval Air Station off Highway 17 in Jacksonville, FL/Duval Co. within Precinct 14K this past Saturday. The people that make up this older neighborhood work as technicians, truck drivers, etc… Consequently, these folks are feeling the pain of the prolonged recession; one even indicated that his house is in the process of being foreclosed.
I met another man who is now retired. He lives in the community’s model home that he purchased 50+ years ago. He claims to still have some of the furniture that came with the house. The day I talked to him, he was doing work in his shed. He explained that he was no longer registered to vote because he was getting called in too often for jury duty and did not like reporting to due to health issues associated with old age. I can empathize with him after observing him struggle to move about the shed.
I have met others who are also not registered to vote for one reason or another, but I think the prevailing reason is that people do not believe their vote makes a difference. While statistically true, the process of voting (vetting candidates, etc…) is what protects our freedoms. I try to impart this when I visit with people that chose not to register, but my points seem to fall on death ears sometimes, which may indicate that some people have given up hope.
I met another man who is now retired. He lives in the community’s model home that he purchased 50+ years ago. He claims to still have some of the furniture that came with the house. The day I talked to him, he was doing work in his shed. He explained that he was no longer registered to vote because he was getting called in too often for jury duty and did not like reporting to due to health issues associated with old age. I can empathize with him after observing him struggle to move about the shed.
I have met others who are also not registered to vote for one reason or another, but I think the prevailing reason is that people do not believe their vote makes a difference. While statistically true, the process of voting (vetting candidates, etc…) is what protects our freedoms. I try to impart this when I visit with people that chose not to register, but my points seem to fall on death ears sometimes, which may indicate that some people have given up hope.
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