Category Archives: Florida

Economy, Florida, Pensacola

Any County Can Do It, Even Escambia

Now that the election is over, there still remains a solution that, whether implemented on the state level or the county level, can turn red ink into black. And it doesn’t come from taxing more or going further into debt. It is done by decreasing cost, with little effort and no sacrifice required. A novel idea for sure. And something that no one except economist Farid Khavari has thought of. Well, except for North Dakota, one of only two states with a surplus. They’ve been doing it for about 100 years and they only have a population of 672,591 people. His explanation below ought to be a challenge to our new state, county and city leaders to really think ‘outside the box’ and move our economy in the right direction.

Florida candidate for governor Farid Khavari shows you how in the article below. You can substitute Miami-Dade County for any county you want. It will work to our advantage. And by ‘our’ I mean, the government entity as well as the taxpayers. The progression goes like this; as the revenue increases, the taxes can be reduced. It’s just that simple. Download and read Zero-Cost Economy to find out how. The solution to our macro economic problem involves more than just our bank. But the public bank solution will go a long way in reducing our costs all by itself.

AN ECONOMIC SOLUTION FOR MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

by Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D., economist

Whether or not efforts to recall Miami-Dade County’s mayor and three commissioners succeed, MDC’s government must confront escalating unemployment, rampant foreclosures, declining property values and shrinking economic activity. Obviously, we cannot expect Washington or Tallahassee to save us. What we need are leaders and a coherent Economic Plan for Miami-Dade County’s future.

Miami-Dade County’s government faces the same insurmountable problem as a typical family today: costs are rising faster than income. When a family must pay higher costs for interest, taxes, insurance, energy, medical care, food and clothing, first they can cut back and reduce their quality of life. Eventually, the family will end up in debt and destitute. A county government can also cut back on services and employees. Of course, a county government can raise taxes to increase its income.

However, raising tax rates on declining property values and shrinking economic activity is a temporary fix at best. In the long term, it can only lead to more unemployment and further erosion of the tax base. This creates more need for county services as revenues dry up, clearly an unsustainable situation.

Simply put, anywhere you look, there is just not enough money.

Fortunately, there is a permanent solution to Miami-Dade County’s economic problems which will also benefit every county resident and make Miami-Dade County recession-proof forever. The solution includes reducing reliance on tax revenues, while lowering and finally eliminating property taxes by 2015. MDC’s government can earn more revenue than ever before, by providing services which lower the costs of living for its residents.

The results of this solution will be massive job creation without subsidies, a stable and affordable housing market, and unprecedented prosperity as everyone’s costs of living are reduced. MDC will have a permanent budget surplus without cutting jobs or salaries.

The cornerstone of this solution is to create the Bank of Miami-Dade County, owned by the county and operated for the benefit of the people of MDC. This bank can be established at no cost to the taxpayers, and earn billions of dollars per year for MDC’s treasury, while saving MDC residents even more billions per year in interest costs.

A publicly-owned bank is not unprecedented. The State of North Dakota has owned a bank since 1918. North Dakota has the lowest unemployment in the U.S. (less than 4% compared to MDC’s 13+%), and a budget surplus of over $1 billion, because they do not rely on Wall Street for money. MDC can do even better.

Under the same Fractional Reserve regulations that govern all banks, the Bank of Miami-Dade County can create $900 of new money through loans, for every $100 of new deposits. Since the BMDC will not be encumbered by massive derivatives liabilities and bad loans, and will operate for the benefit of the people of MDC rather than Wall Street—the BMDC can make substantial profits by paying higher rates for deposits than it charges for loans. Thus we can have:

4% Certificates of Deposit, 6% for long-term IRA’s

2% fixed rate, 15-year mortgages (new and refinance) for MDC residents and businesses

6% credit cards

3% car loans

3% business and construction financing

2% student loans (new and refinance)

2% alternative energy loans

2% financing/refinancing for MDC government and school projects

and more.

Note that in the extreme case of paying 6% for deposits, and charging only 2% for loans, the bank can earn $12 per year for every $100 of deposits ($900 x 2%= $18, less $6 for the deposit).

If we consider just the County’s own receipts as deposits for the bank, over $70 BILLION in new money can be created and earn at least $2 BILLION per year for MDC’s treasury. At the same time, MDC’s people and businesses would save at least $4 billion per year in interest expenses, which is $4 billion more that will stay in MDC to drive the economy. This is $4 billion PER YEAR added directly to the net worth of MDC citizens.

This additional $4 billion per year can create $36 billion per year in new money, earning another $1.5 billion for MDC’s treasury.

Most deposits cost a bank nothing. But to build up real wealth for MDC’s people and the treasury, the bank can pay above-market rates for savings. By attracting only 10% of the deposits already in banks in MDC, the BMDC can create another $90 billion in new money, ENOUGH TO PROVIDE A $100,000 2%/15-YEAR MORTGAGE LOAN FOR EVERY HOUSING UNIT IN DADE COUNTY. This would earn MDC’s treasury another $1 billion per year. At the same time, the homeowners would save over $2.5 billion per year in interest. That money contributes directly to the net worth of MDC citizens and stays in MDC to drive the economy.

Earnings from the bank can replace property tax revenues for MDC. Starting with pro-rata property tax rebates in the first year, then lower tax rates combined with rebates, BY 2015 MDC’S PROPERTY TAXES CAN BE ELIMINATED.

The result of the foregoing will be 150,000 new jobs in MDC within three years. This eliminates unemployment in MDC. These jobs will be created by the private sector, without subsidies. Within six years, those new jobs will have created 100,000 more.

It seems obvious that 2% mortgages would save everyone money, create employment and boost the housing market. However, in light of recent history, it is natural to assume that 2% mortgages would cause another housing bubble. In fact, 2% fixed rate/15 year mortgages would do exactly the opposite, creating stability and affordability in housing. Prices will stabilize at levels which are affordable to buyers and profitable for builders.

The reason is simple. While a 2%/15 year mortgage will save over 75% of the interest compared to a 5%/30 year loan, the monthly payment is slightly higher on the 2% loan due to the shorter term. This limits the price of a home for which a buyer’s income qualifies. At the same time, low construction interest rates mean the builder can earn more money offering a better house for a lower price. Further, since the average interest cost on a 2%/15 year loan (due to the rapid principle reduction) is only 1% per year, home prices will remain stable long-term for future generations of home buyers.

There are much more important long-term economic benefits from 2%/15-year mortgages. To begin with, a family will save about $150,000 in interest per $100,000 of mortgage amount, and own their home 15 years sooner. This means that after 15 years, the monthly amount that would have been paid for the next 15 years for a 30-year mortgage is available for spending or investment. This can result in $250,000 in extra retirement savings.

Further, with a 2%/15-year loan, 11% of the principle balance is paid in the first two years. This effectively creates enough reserves to make another mortgage loan of the same size. This makes the 2%/15 mortgage plan self-sustaining.

Creating the Bank of Miami-Dade County will cost taxpayers NOTHING. Using the bank’s earnings to replace property-tax revenue returns $billions per year to the people and economy of MDC. Operating the bank for the benefit of the people saves more $billions per year for the people and economy of MDC.

MDC will never face a deficit again. MDC will be recession-proof forever. Unemployment in MDC will be the lowest in the world. MDC’s people will enjoy prosperity and financial security unparalleled in the United States. Miami-Dade County will be a model for the entire United States.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D., is a noted economist and author of nine books, including the classic Environomics and his latest, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy. He was a candidate for Florida governor on the 2010 ballot. His proposal to create a state-owned bank in Florida was adopted by gubernatorial candidates (including Democrats and Republicans) in seven states. Dr. Khavari has lived in Miami since 1977. For more information, see www.zerocosteconomy.com.

Florida, Politics

2010 Census Adjusts Representation

The purpose of the census, done once every ten years, is to make adjustments in the House of Representatives to assure accurate representation in Washington based on population of the states. This interactive map provided by the Census Bureau illustrates the population shift for the last hundred years.

Census Bureau Director Robert Groves gave the highlights.

“This 2010 census population represents a growth of 9.7 per cent over the official population count of 2000.”

“As you know the constitutional purpose of the census is the redistribution of the membership of the House of Representatives across states proportional to the population,” continued Groves. “Since 1940 the law has specified that the Census Bureau use the method of equal proportions to assign seats to the states.”

Pointing out the trend since 1940 that N.E. and Midwestern states lose seats, and South and Western states gain seats (creating a net shift of 79 seats) Groves went on to prove this decade as no exception. This decade’s population spread will see a 12-seat shift with eight states gaining representatives, 10 states losing seats. Texas benefits most with a gain of four seats.

Link: U.S. Census Bureau Announces 2010 Census Population Counts

China, Economy, Energy, Florida, Media, Pensacola, Politics

Florida’s No-Energy Policy Is No Energy Policy

It’s not surprising that the St. Petersburg Times would come out with an editorial supporting the President’s about face on opening up 25 million acres of land off of Florida’s coast to oil exploration. They also thought that shutting down ALL oil drilling in the entire Gulf of Mexico by ALL oil companies was a good idea too! It reflects the knee-jerk reaction to pressure from the environmentalist lobby who, last I checked, does not produce energy.

Critics of the plan, like State Senate President Mike Haridopolos, are right to say that the Florida ban will cost jobs. It is preventing jobs from being created. Forget that ‘saved or created’ nonsense. This, like the rest of Obama’s economic policies are preventing jobs from being created and the economy from recovering.

Out of the lost wages and earnings, all of which BP is responsible for replacing, the Times did not give a number of jobs lost due to the leak. And didn’t BP put thousands of people to work (because of the leak) all over the Gulf coast to do the cleanup work? Sorry to say, but devastating hurricanes create jobs and work too! This is no more a justification for lax safety procedures than a hope for another accident. Point is, we can recover from accidents and disasters.

The jobs lost by extending this Florida waters moratorium another 12 years is real. Likewise, the jobs lost from our president and Ken Salazar putting the drilling moratorium in effect for all drilling in the Gulf in the wake of the 4/20 BP rig explosion was ignored by the St. Pete Times. But, that is to be expected of them.

It’s been 15 years since the Clinton administration put the kibosh on ANWR development, which would have long been producing energy by now had that not happened. Now we’re to wait twelve more years for Florida and the Eastern U.S. to use its resources?

Time is long overdue for an energy policy that gets some. In every area. How many new nuclear generating plants have opened in the last 20 years? How many new refineries have been built in the last 20 years? Did you know that 57% (that’s more than half for those of you educated in government schools) of our electrical energy comes from coal? How many new coal-fired electrical generating plants have been built in the last 20 years? So President Clinton made our nation’s only low sulfur coal reserves (the largest in the world) off-limits, handing China a monopoly. And banning oil development off our East and Gulf coasts, leaves OPEC to profit. Buying coal from China and oil from OPEC is not good for national security, nor is it a good energy policy.

Long story short. Unless you expect the energy industry to make environmental guidelines, don’t expect the environmentalists to make energy policy.

Link:    Shelving expanded gulf oil drilling is responsible course |  Oil spills kill jobs

Florida, Pensacola

Joe Bonamassa At Pensacola Saenger, Dec 1

I know I’ve posted an announcement like this before. But I have a couple of things to add, and, you probably haven’t bought your tickets yet. There’s still time. Visit Ticketmaster or the Joe Bonamassa website or the Saenger Theater website to get them. Buy 3 and get a fourth free.

At your next visit to Philly’s, pick up a flyer for the Saenger show. On the flyer there is an address and promo code that lets you download a free MP3 of Joe’s audio art. We now have two Philly’s locations in Pensacola. Our world headquarters at 3900 Creighton Road (850-969-0087), and our new location in the Milestone Shopping Center (aka Publix Shopping Center) at the intersection of Nine Mile and Pine Forest. The address there is 2166 W. Nine Mile Road (850-473-6780).

And speaking of Joe’s audio art, here is a sample from his show in Prague from a couple of weeks ago. The live version of Slo Gin.


Pssst. The free download is at JBONAMASSA.COM, promo code SAENGER

Don’t miss this show. A blues guitarist and artist like this comes around once in a generation. This is it.

2010 Election, Florida, Politics

Alan Grayson’s Representation Died Quickly

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the man who made a fool of himself and his party when he said on the House floor that the Republican health care plan
 was for sick people to die quickly, was voted out of office on Tuesday. Voters in his district decided it was his representation that they wanted to die quickly. They elected Daniel Webster, a Republican 56% to 38%.

He has an explanation as to why he lost so big. He said it was because Democrats were too appeasing to Republicans over the last two years. What? I guess that if by appeasement where Obama’s signature legislation is concerned, Obamacare, you mean that you shut out Republicans from any input in the creation of the bill and not allow any amendments, then yes, they were appeasing.

I’m not a doctor, but I’ve seen doctor shows on TV. And it seems to me that Alan Grayson needs some counseling for Post Election Stress Disorder.

Link: Rep. Grayson: Dems lost because of ‘appeasement’

Florida, Politics, Uncategorized

aSide Order

Candidate for Governor of Florida Alex Sink, caught here breaking the very rules that the person sending the text message on her Blackberry had proposed.

She promised an ethical administration, and promptly fired the guy on the other end of the Blackberry. To keep her promise, seems like there’s only one more person to fire.

But let’s be positive. Vote for Farid Khavari for Governor of the State of Florida. No BS, now kowtoing to political party machines. Just sound solutions.

Why the tea party movement? And why now?

Honoring our fallen veterans every summer evening for the last 38 years. A touching tradition at Cape May Point, New Jersey.

2010 Election, Florida, Media, Pensacola, Politics

Pensacola News Journal Pulls Political Opinion Piece

The article by columnist Mark O’Brien entitled Hayward is a candidate of hype was pulled from the PNJ website late yesterday. It no doubt had something to do with a barrage of hate-mail from Hayward supporters, or the fact that Hayward was the newspaper’s endorsed candidate, or that one of the papers’ major advertisers is a contributor to the Hayward campaign. Or all three.

From memory now, since I didn’t save a copy, O’Brien wrote an opinion piece on Hayward that was less than flattering but all based on substantiated fact. Including his receiving campaign contributions from the Levin Papantonio law firm and their involvement in the BP lawsuit, and subsequent comments made by Hayward on the campaign trail. Not mentioned in that article, is Papantonio’s participation in a class action suit against BP. At any rate, aside from a columnist, O’Brien is also an opinion writer. Much the same as Juan Williams does, or did, double duty as a reporter, columnist, and opinion commentator for NPR and FOX News. O’Brien does both opinion and reporting functions.

The pulling of this piece from their website without comment shows the priorities are less about journalistic integrity than political and financial expediency. It’s no secret that the Levin Papantonio law firm is a big advertiser in the paper. It takes a willing suspension of disbelief to think that that was not part, if not all, of  Executive Editor Richard Schneider’s motivation.

Seems like only a couple days ago that the subject of journalistic ethics and objectivity came up. At issue there was who was paying the bills for the reporter. This brings a new twist to the topic which is, who is paying the bills for the paper?

Former link location: Hayward is a candidate of hype

Update Nov 1, 2010: Correction in today’s PNJ.

In Sunday’s column, Mark O’Brien erroneously stated that mayoral candidate Ashton Hayward III had urged the Pensacola City Council to hire the Levin Papantonio law firm to pursue possible legal action against BP for the April 20 oil spill.

Hayward did not specify any law firm when he urged the City Council to consider legal action.

Apparently everything else in the article was correct.  If you entertain conspiracies of coincidence, Johnson provided Hayward the cover that he needed. Both he and the candidate are allied to the law firm that was hired. Whether by contributions or the Emerald Coastkeepers club, the end result is the same. LP is on the case.

At least the paper did not attempt to deny the genesis of the article, that ‘Hayward is a candidate of hype.’

2010 Election, Economy, Florida, Politics

Khavari’s Common Sense Alternative For Florida

2 Comments

Florida gubernatorial candidate Khavari calls for nationwide mortgage strike

Miami, FL October 30— Noted economist and independent candidate for Florida governor on Tuesday’s ballot today called for all Americans to withhold their mortgage payments to apply pressure to banks.

“Foreclosures are rampant and there is no end in sight as long as unemployment is high. And there is no reason to expect unemployment to do anything but get worse,” said Khavari. “My economic plan for Florida will generate a million jobs in 4 years, but foreclosures will continue to rise unless we do something now.

“The banks brought us the housing bubble. They drove up home prices and wrote millions of stupid loans. Then they bet on the loans failing, using credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations.

They won the bets and collected their money, so why are they crying? Meanwhile, they have raised interest rates, cut credit lines, and lowered almost everyone’s credit score, including the majority of people who never missed a payment,” Khavari said. “This has brought our economy to a standstill.

“Until we clear up the foreclosure crisis, the economy can’t move forward. And the banks are doing nothing but making it worse. They collect on their bets, then grab the homes and put families in the street using bogus documents. Then they sit on the houses because they don’t want to admit they are worth less than their books show.

“Every family in America lost out, but we bailed out the biggest insurance company and the biggest banks in America, and their employees collected billions in bonuses. And what have they done since but destroy our economy? The banks need a wake-up call, like a two-by-four upside their heads,” Khavari said.

“If every American family would withhold their mortgage payments, and save that money in a bank other than where they have their mortgage, we could get the banks back to come clean, or else get rid of them forever. Specifically, we must withhold payments until every bank does the following:

“First, issue a statement showing their total mortgage activity since 2006, and a summary of all the derivatives they speculated in, all the CDO’s and credit default swaps.

“Second, every homeowner must be informed of what the bank did with their mortgage, including packaging it, slicing and dicing it into so-called securities—and exactly how many derivative bets the bank made on that very mortgage. We’ll see how much the banks stand to collect—and from whom– when you don’t pay the mortgage.

“Third, every homeowner must be informed exactly where their original mortgage note is, who owns it now, and how they can see it if they wish to.

“Fourth, the bank must negotiate in good faith to reduce the principle balance according to the new market reality, which was brought about by the banks in the first place.

“Fifth, the banks must refinance at 2% fixed rates for 15 years based on current market value.

“Sixth, the banks must inform each customer how much money they donated for the past five years to every political party, lobbying organization or political fund of any kind.”

“The alternative,” said Khavari, “is for us to create the Bank of the State of Florida, which can just buy all the houses from the banks at the current market value, say 50% of the original value, and issue the 2% 15-year mortgages ourselves, while leaving the families in their homes. We have already shown that this could earn billions per year for the state of Florida while saving Floridians 50% to 75% of the long-term cost of owning a home.

“This will create a thousand times more jobs than any stimulus plan or tax cut. It would stabilize our housing market at prices that are fair to buyers and to builders. And our kids will be able to afford homes, too.

“Already foreclosure affects over one out of seven homes in Florida. If we wait to act until it is one out of five, it will be the end of our economy. Many people think this does not affect them. They pay their mortgage, they have a job, and life goes on. Well, just as a rising economic tide floats all boats, an economic tidal wave drowns everyone, rich and poor alike.

“The banks have abused their power to create money out of thin air and charge interest for it. Just when the economy needs consumer demand and spending, they raised credit card rates to 30% and raised the minimum payments, just to be sure that there is no available cash to spend on anything but paying the banks. Their time is over. A state bank could earn countless billions issuing 6% credit cards, and there is no reason the commercial banks can’t do that, too—except for simple greed.”

Khavari’s plan for a bank owned by all the people of Florida has received national acclaim and has since been adopted by gubernatorial candidates of at least three parties in seven states, and several similar proposals are pending in state legislatures across America. His job creation plan is based on organizing demand, rather than tax cuts.

“On Tuesday, Floridians have an opportunity to choose a governor who will fix our economy. I am the only candidate with a real economic plan. I am an economist, not a politician. We are in this mess because the banks and insurance companies have bought the political parties and call the tune for the politicians. More people than ever are voting against big party politics. This is a good year for independents and can be a great year for Florida,” Khavari said. “Be sure to vote!”

Farid Khavari, Ph.D., is a respected economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His economic plan is detailed at www.khavariforgovernor.com. He is on the Florida ballot as an NPA (no party affiliation) candidate for governor.

2010 Election, Florida, Media, Politics

No Enthusiasm Gap Shrink In Florida

Washington reporter Jamie Dupree looks at early voting results in states where it exists.

In Florida, almost 800,000 votes are already in, and when you look at the party breakdown, you see that 52.8% of the ballots are in from Republicans to 33.7% for Democrats.

That the ‘enthusiasm gap’ we’ve been hearing about is lessening seems to be more imagined (by the Left and the media) than real.

Early Voting Numbers | Jamie Dupree Washington Insider.