Florida "The Bad Luck State"

[Cantrip]

Originally posted by Redukter *
**
Economically, we’re somewhat okay. We’ve got beaucoup tourism dollars (and the tourists provide a steady food supply for our native flesh-eating lizards…), but at the cost of our environment. There’s really nothing more beautiful than a stand of tall pinetrees (and we have lots of that in the places in Florida that are still unpaved-over), but those in charge care more about converting that into cash.*

Actually, Redukter, you’d better be careful. The tax reform bill Bush signed in June screws Florida big-time economically. It eliminates the estate tax primarily on the backs of the states.

Right now, the top 55% tax bracket goes 39% to the IRS and 16% to each state with a soak-up tax (like Florida). Next year, the top bracket goes to 50%, but gets split 38% to the IRS, 12% to the states.

Florida has no income tax and a constitutional prohibition on an estate tax. It relies heavily on its share of estate tax revenue. (I don’t have exact figures, but the 4% estate tax reduction is worth $210 million out of a budget of about $1.1 billion - about 20%.) Consequently, if estate tax repeal stays in place, Florida (and many other states in the same situation) are screwed.

[vanilla]

Well, blue, actually I prefer cerullean.

[pezwookiee]

This has been bothering me all day and I need to respond or else my conscious won’t stop. (Yes, we New Yorkers have consciouses)

*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose *
Er, just off the top of my head, from out here in the Heartland…

Subway crime?

In all my trips on the subway, not once have I been witness to any crime. I ride on them daytime, nighttime, four in the morning… I’ve seen one fight between friends on a subway once.

Guardian Angels?
Son of Sam?

How long ago was Son of Sam?

The guy who went berserk and shot people on the subway?

Seems to be a fair share of berserk folks with guns out in the heartland from my city point of view if you don’t mind my saying so.

The cops who went berserk and beat up/killed/sodomized with a broom handle the black/white/brown guy(s)?
Serpico, which was based on a true story?

I’ll give you those. But at least Rodney King and that stuff wasn’t here, right?

Various “colorful” (read: troublesome) mayors, like Rudy Before WTC?

Yeah,okay.

Donald Trump?

Sure, there are jerks around like Don Trump, but we live in a capitalist society where people are allowed to get rich and be jerks. No excuse, but well… where was I going with this?

The worst rush hour traffic in the world?

Some of the best public transportation in the world. (And LA and Boston and DC all have worse traffic.)

People who don’t know how to drive?

Uh… people don’t drive here. Cabbies do.

People who don’t know how to park?

You better know how to park if you’re going to drive in New York. Parking tickets are given out faster than you can say Guiliani. (If you’re gonna complain about something, complain about how much it costs to park.)

The rudest people in the world?

This one bothered me the most because it is simply not true. (You’re thinking of Paris.) People in New York may not be polite, but do you really think they have the time to be rude to you? There are less social formalities here because everything is faster and because of that everyone is a little bit more real - which doesn’t necessarily mean pleasant, but doesn’t mean rude.

Garbage collectors’ strikes?
Muggers in Central Park?

both overrated.

Joggers being raped in Central Park, on video?

I’ll give you this one.

And, er…WTC?

Yeah, that one’s a given too.

What did New York, New York, the town with two names twice, do to deserve this?

I think what gets me about this is we’re talking about stuff that happens to a city or state, not the character of a city or state. Even with what happens in New York – it’s the biggest, most international city in America. Of course crazy shit is going to happen here! On the other hand, Florida seems to be a magnet for strange occurrences (Elian, tropical storms, presidential election miscalculations, flight training schools for terrorists, et cetera…) without any reason that I can put my finger on.

Most of my friends (from New York City) are from foreign countries and they say, “America is this” or “America is that.” “No,” I tell them, “New York is this and New York is that.”

It’s a different culture here. But I just wanted to stick up for New York. (Come out to the east coast sometime, Duck Duck Goose, and I’ll show you around! We need the tourists right now.)

[pezwookiee]

*Originally posted by pezwookiee *
**This has been bothering me all day and I need to respond or else my conscious won’t stop. (Yes, we New Yorkers have consciouses)
**

D’oh! Of course I meant “conscience.”

[Zenster]

Originally posted by Sea Sorbust *
…Florida, (unlike other ecological-devestating states which merely drain their aquifers), actually supports the concept of “deep well” disposal of poisonous wastes—it’s Government not only drains the Floridan aquifer but, just to be sure, poisons it (thus, by the way, saving a some businesses a bundle of bucks in disposal charges)…*

This is so heinous and unbelievable that I almost want to request a cite. But if you provided a valid one, I would instantly be obliged to hurl in a massive, technicolor fashion.

[Sea_Sorbust]

*Originally posted by **Zenster *
**

*Originally posted by **Sea Sorbust ***
…Florida, (unlike other ecological-devestating states which merely drain their aquifers), actually supports the concept of “deep well” disposal of poisonous wastes—it’s Government not only drains the Floridan aquifer but, just to be sure, poisons it (thus, by the way, saving a some businesses a bundle of bucks in disposal charges)…

This is so heinous and unbelievable that I almost want to request a cite. But if you provided a valid one, I would instantly be obliged to hurl in a massive, technicolor fashion.

¿Que?

Since I have a well and drink the stuff, I fully agree with your “heinous” and even the “unbelievable”. It was State Senator Johnson (of Bradenton or Sarasota) who actually ran a campaign partly based on the notion of “deep well injection” of poisonous wastes.

If you were serious about a cite, it will take me a while since it was several years ago. But if you’re serious, I’ll give it a try.

I am, alas, too much of a stoge, Zenster, to get your allusion to “obliged to hurl in a massive technicolor fashion”. Mount Erebus, maybe?

Hey, there, bluecrayola. I agree: Great name. Very colorful. (With all the hijacking of your thread going on, had to say something nice. )

[LouisB]

Okay, I just recently finished a temporary assignment documenting processes in a WasteWater Reclamation Facility (sewer plant) in Pinellas County, Florida. The deep well injection process is true and is ongoing BUT is due to be phased out. Most of the reclaimed wastewater is now being used to irrigate golf courses, median strip plantings and, in some parts of the county, residential lawns. The processes involved in turning sewage into usable water are complex and very interesting.

Kudzu was originally imported into Georgia from Africa and was intended to be used as cattle feed. Since there is nearly always a bright side to things, some interprising person a few years back came up with a way to extract a starch from kudzu and actually exported that starch to Japan where it was used in food preparation. No cite, but I remember reading about it and being vastly amused by it.

[RevisionistHistoryChannel]

Florida is a funny state. Lots of old people jokes, and last year lots of Elian/Cuban jokes. Plus it has the spring break crowd at Fort Lauderdale, redneck racing, and gators.

If it were a state with less funny things, like S.Carolina, you wouldn’t remember the bad news items long enough to see a connection.

People, and especially newscasters, like to talk about famous people and overlook the unfamous.

[vanilla]

Don’t forget, Dave Barry is in Florida

[Sea_Sorbust]

Originally posted by* LouisB *
**Okay, I just recently finished a temporary assignment documenting processes in a WasteWater Reclamation Facility (sewer plant) in Pinellas County, Florida. The deep well injection process is true and is ongoing BUT is due to be phased out. Most of the reclaimed wastewater is now being used to irrigate golf courses, median strip plantings and, in some parts of the county, residential lawns. The processes involved in turning sewage into usable water are complex and very interesting.

I once studied the process of treating almost-all waste (even heavy metals, IIRC) by running it through a lengthy course of various toxicity-reducing vegetation. I would trust such a process, LouisB, but I’m not sure about a “normal”, human-operated processing plant working on chemical engineering principals. Too much room for “human error”.

As I recall things (and, BTW, thanks for the back-up, LouisB), the “deep well injection” scheme sent everything that could be “liquidized” down the tubes without any processing whatsoever. Maybe that notion was watered down (–no pun intended–) into “processed waste”, but the original scheme included much more than mere sewage.

[Poonther]

Florida’s bad luck isn’t bad luck at all. It’s our punishment for allowing JEB! Bush to be elected governor. Hopefully in little over a year things will get better if his reign of terror is ended. Have you ever noticed how big JEB!'s head is (and I mean that in a physical way.) It looks like he has the head of his mother, Barbara (minus the pearls of course) and the body of his Daddy(“read my lips”.)