A ‘Billionaire Exchange Program’ would show the left why Florida is thriving | Opinion
Trading billionaires
Re: the Feb. 12 article, “Do recent megamillion Miami real estate buys signal a coming billionaire wave?” While Florida may primarily be known more for its moderate to conservative billionaires, a significant number of billionaires and “wanna-be” billionaires live in Florida who support far left Democratic and progressive causes.
Perhaps there should be a Billionaire Exchange Program between Florida and progressive states like California and New York. The far left and progressives here, if relocated, could put more state and local tax dollars where their utterances/sentiments are and live in a more politically friendly environment. They could then enjoy the stifling, excessive regulation of state and local governments they support, as opposed to trying to convert Florida into another “blue” state failure.
Robert E. Panoff,
Pinecrest
Preventing hate
Feb. 14 was the eighth anniversary of the Parkland shooting. My organization, Eradicate Hate, a nonprofit dedicated to forging solutions to prevent hate-fueled violence, was founded after the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. While it may seem geographically far, the challenges we face are quite close to Parkland’s.
We support survivors by committing to what comes next — real action to prevent future attacks. We do this by partnering with organizations like Make Our Schools Safe. Rooted in the tragedy of Parkland, the organization works to create a culture of safety at school by collaborating with high-level security advisors to provide better protection in emergency situations.
Students are often the first to spot warning signs. Initiatives such as UP End Hate help them recognize risks and feel safe and motivated to speak up. During its pilot program, two students reported weapons on campus, demonstrating its lifesaving potential.
We stand with Parkland survivors — today and always. Together, we can make schools safer for all.
Brette Steele,
president,
Eradicate Hate,
Pittsburgh, PA
Politics today
The Miami Herald’s Feb. 12 opinion page featured two columns with polar opposite viewpoints.
One lauded Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance as uplifting and unifying while contrasting President Trump’s hate-laced racist tirade of social media posts about Bad Bunny, the Obamas, a Minneapolis protester and a U.S. Olympic skier, to name a few.
The other column, by Bernie Navarro, a Cuban exile and U.S. ambassador to Peru, praises the selection of the Trump presidential library next to the Freedom Tower and Miami Dade College, as a constructive step to “invite scrutiny and encourage students to study leadership fully.”
Placing that library anywhere near the Freedom Tower and Miami Dade College, known as “democracy’s college,” is a sacrilege and an insult to anyone who came to the United States seeking freedom from repression, tyrants and despots.
As a Cuban exile processed in that venerable building in 1962, I find the idea sickening and the college’s Board of Trustees decision to forfeit the land regrettable.
Rosemary Ravinal,
Doral
An affordable Miami
Miami Herald editorial board member Mary Anna Mancuso’s Feb. 11 column, “GOP must address affordability to save Miami’s American Dream,” is exactly right.
Other communities, many of them smaller than Miami’s cosmopolitan city — with our recent influx of wealthy residents — have suffered a brain drain of young talent when ignoring serious local and national affordability issues.
This is hardly a hoax and politicians should not be playing political football by ignoring solutions to retain young talent in our city. Equally, people in our large service industry are evacuating in favor of cities with more affordable living costs.
Through our tax dollars, we pay those who have the power to govern, whether Republican or Democrat, locally and nationally, to focus and provide solutions, lest we be relegated to a community of self-service residents when dining out, or businesses forced to relocate in search of smart talent to serve their corporate profitability goals.
H. Allen Benowitz,
Miami
Subsuming truth
As a lifelong independent and a more than 40-year reader of the Miami Herald, I am sad to see it and so many other newspapers struggle to compete with the mobs of secondhand, non-factual, strictly biased sources of “news.”
My right wing friends no longer read much of anything in print, declaring it socialistic, left wing whining. They don’t credit the fact-checking that has always been the backbone of a source that has earned many Pulitzer Prizes for accurate and meaningful reporting.
I don’t waste much time trying to tell them they’re following the profitable trend in most media of couching their “news” in emotional, not factual, memes and terms designed to increase profits. Emotions, not facts, are a more attractive way to increase viewers, listeners and the few remaining readers. Many of our leaders know that few will fact-check their statements, or listen to those who do.
I urge everyone to visit YouTube and look for the Feb. 10 PBS interview of Nobel Peace Prize winner and journalist Maria Rassa, as she lays out the experience of power-hungry leaders’ success at gaining control of information outlets. They all know that controlling how and what you think is the primary step to controlling you.
Only a society of factually informed, individual rational thinkers, who talk and listen to each other, can survive and retain their freedom. History shows ample proof of the billions living in serfdom, in the past and today, who have allowed others to tell them what to think.
J Trigg Adams,
Miami
Independent watchdog
I agree with Terry Murphy’s Feb. 9 online op-ed, “Miami-Dade is threatening the independence of its top watchdog.” The strength of Miami-Dade’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) lies in its independence.
Having spent most of my adult life in public service — as a police chief and city manager — I understand how government systems function and where vulnerabilities emerge. That experience is precisely why I am concerned about efforts to hold up the reappointment of the county’s IG by changing qualification standards under the claim that prior public administration experience is required. Experience inside government can be valuable, but it is not the defining qualification. Independence is.
Many professors teach public administration, law and finance without having served in those exact roles, yet no one questions their ability to understand how systems operate or fail.
The IG’s duty is not to operate the government, but to scrutinize it. Oversight works best when it is independent, not conditioned by insider familiarity. True accountability depends on the courage to challenge the system, not blend into it.
James Wright,
CEO,
Wright Worldwide,
Miami Lakes
Who’s in charge?
Our state leaders have many proposals to cut or eliminate property taxes and make housing more affordable. None of these would be necessary if leaders were better stewards of taxpayers’ money.
In a recent disclosure, Gov. Ron DeSantis used at least $573 million of taxpayer funds on immigration and another $35 million was given to Hope Florida Foundation to defeat marijuana legalization.
Undoubtedly, there are more cases of improper use of our money. It’s time for better oversight and punishing those who did wrong.
Art Young,
West Kendall
Borderline expense
Re: the Feb. 13 story, “From private jets to tacos: Florida’s immigration surged last summer.” Maybe this wouldn’t cost so much if former President Joe Biden hadn’t reopened the borders after Trump had them partially closed.
Mike Turkal,
Palmetto Bay
Treading water
According to recent news reports, President Trump will approve Hudson River Tunnel funds only if Virginia’s Dulles Airport and NYC’s Penn Station are named after himself.
Here’s a suggestion: only rename the already under-construction Hudson River tunnel after him. After all, according to the polls, Trump’s approval rating is already underwater.
Richard Pober,
Palmetto Bay