In this day and age of excessive greed by our political leaders, trusted investors, and big businesses are there any more stories out there that can anger us? Bailout after bailout, private jets,lavish parties, exorbitant bonus packages… have we had enough? Are we so saturated by the misuse of our money that we just don’t care anymore? Well, I think I have one more story that may be the apex on the ‘era of Greed’.

Brevard County Property Appraiser Jim Ford, who was re-elected last month, is using a clause in

state law that will allow him to retire his official current position in order to collect stateretirement benefits. Then, when he takes office again, he’ll receive his new salary.

Yes, you read that right. Our diligent property appraiser is retiring from his old job as property appraiser, so he can start working at his new job of… Property Appraiser. What’s the big deal about this?

Oh, you’ll love this…

Ford is using a program called DROP. He will get a lump sum check of $337,192. He will also get a retirement check of $6,892 a month.

and it’s not only a $7,000 retirement check he gets each month, he’ll also be getting his new salary for his new job (which is the same job he’s just retired from) that pays him $139,000 annually. .

Who is paying for this? We’ve had to cut $300 million from our school budget this year and if things don’t change, that number will soar to a total of $780 million next year. So who is paying for Jim Ford’s scam?

Maybe who is paying isn’t as interesting as why there is a loss of all this money. Among other things, $266 billion is how much statewide property values are expected to fall next year. Property values that were inflated by nefarious property appraisers.

What was Jim Ford’s title again?

Now, I am by no means blaming Jim Ford or his office for any of this. In fact, Lance Larsen Deputy Property Appraiser was acquitted on charges that he misused his office by giving tax breaks as political favors.

The last blow for prosecutors was when the judge would not allow them to have a witness testify that Larsen kept separate files for people he was allegedly favoring by lowering the value of their homes and property.

Prosecutors met with the judge in his chambers to discuss that issue and when they returned to court, the judge acquitted Larsen on seven counts of misconduct and one count of grand theft.

It must have been some other uncontrollable event that led up to this budget deficit that is going to effect every single aspect of our society in this state. What I will blame Jim Ford and the other 211 elected officials who have used the DROP law to charge the state $300 million since it’s passage, is being a part of the larger problem facing this country. Just because the law is there doesn’t mean you should take advantage of it. Especially in this day age when most American aren’t sure how they are going to feed and clothe their children this winter.

There is another Ford in the news these days trying trying to prove that they need a helping hand from Congress because of the financial abuses by Wall Street and her banks. That Ford is being dragged over hot coals and is as close to being drawn and quartered as you can get for not being more market savvy and fiscally responsible. When are we going to put all the corrupt players under the same microscope? From the giant banks who have broken their promises to the tax payer, to the bought and paid for property appraisers who were the first pebble that started this whole sub-prime mortgage avalanche, all of whom are still raping the system with our consent.

Sadly, Jim Ford may not have broken any laws but that doesn’t mean what he did was righteous either. This bleed needs to stop. This kind of cancer needs to be cut out. The days of extraordinary privileges, ridiculous ‘golden parachutes’ and unchecked greed needs to end, Rome is burning people… and we need to rid ourselves of the elected officials who are sitting and playing the fiddle while she cooks.

UPDATE

This is worse than I expected.. How much more corruption can this state pay for without going broke? How much more school funding can we take to pay for these rogue characters to live the life of Riley? Damnit this is my kids education as much as it’s yours. Isn’t it time to do something about it?

TALLAHASSEE — A growing number of elected officials are quietly taking advantage of a loophole carved into the state retirement law a few years ago that allows double dipping — collecting a state pension while still getting a regular paycheck from taxpayers.

Records indicate that 211 elected officials in Florida — including legislators, judges, sheriffs, circuit clerks, school board members and county commissioners — have taken advantage of the benefit. Thirty-one signed up in the past six months.

They are ‘quietly’ taking ‘advantage’… It’s time to bring this into the light isn’t?

What could that money have paid for?

Gov. Charlie Crist’s top budget advisers are floating lists of potential budget changes, including “saving” $436 million by suspending the Bright Futures college scholarship program, FLORIDA TODAY’s capitol bureau reported.

Well yeah, I mean it’s more more important that our elected officials recieve this money rather than letting poor kids get scholarships to college… But that’s probably ok though, since we we’ve run out of money to teach them while their in public schools.

To date, our district has been forced to cut programs/make reductions in the amount of $76.4 million ($31.4 million cut 2007-08 and $45.0 million cut thus far in 2008-09) in order to offset state and local revenue shortfalls, as well as budgetary shortfalls. An additional anticipated state holdback of $9.8 million, a loss of $1.4 million in school recognition/lottery funding, and a reduction of at least $2.9 million in lost state monies due to declining enrollment bring Brevard’s two-year loss to just over $90 million. Now, we were informed at a meeting last week that the state’s “per student allocation” may be cut by another $150 per student-this action may result in a special legislative session early next year, and will likely mean an additional $10.8 million cut prior to June 30, 2009, in addition to all of our previous budget reductions. All of these cuts total just over $101 million and more importantly, $70 million for the current school year.

As you know, we have been able thus far to maintain staffing and avoid layoffs. If this latest reduction comes to pass, reducing our budget without a reduction in personnel will be a challenge of enormous magnitude. It is my intention to make reduction recommendations to the School Board in January. We will communicate with you again at that time.

What are we doing? When does someone stand up and finally say “Enough!”

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