Friday, January 16, 2009

Lake Worth Citizens, a new group


Last night I met with a newly formed citizens group, Lake Worth Citizens. I joined the Group online just to see what it was all about and its intent. They have a big concern about the direction of government, not only in our city but primarily at the Federal level. The room was filled with mostly Republicans I would guess but the Group itself is non-partisan. I attended just to listen and observe.

Its founder, David Wood, is a Constitution expert and firmly believes, without any doubt in his mind, that we are wandering way off course. I am sure that he believes, as do I, that the President does not have the sole power to implement programs, raise or lower our taxes, decide all issues and virtually run the government like a dictator. Sound familiar?

The Federal government is so out of control. We are just a hair away from bankruptcy. They continue to run up the national debt and it is unimaginable to me how they will pay for it. We can’t continue the bailouts. Now Obama wants an $825 BILLION stimulus package to help the “poor and unemployed and hand out huge grants for local schools and state governments.” We can NOT continue to borrow and spend. Look what the bailouts have done under George Bush?” NOTHING. All they have done is to allow foreign countries to own more of our country.

Racking up debt for which we can't pay, we borrow from foreign countries who end up owning a big piece of this country. We have the same problems here on the local level. We are outsourcing this and that to Palm Beach County, chipping away at our own autonomy. Here in Lake Worth we have a chance to eliminate some of the horrendous decisions of the past by voting the abusers out. Why some of these decisions were made by our local officials is up to conjecture. With all the corruption in Palm Beach County, I do not discount that.

When it comes to the illegal immigration issue here in Lake Worth, the Socialists know that the Feds aren’t doing much about it so they pushed forth their Mentoring Center program and gave this group our public building for an illegal purpose for $1 a year.

Next we have a volunteer politically appointed Board, the CRA, whose seven members have decided that Lake Worth will be an artist’s destination. Seven people with the Commission’s support, has made this decision with NO citizen input. Have you ever seen a wealthy artist? A lot of them are on food stamps and VanGogh died broke. Where is the Commission oversight? They have to approve all CRA spending by Ordinance. We have a Commission that truly understands the concept of implementing policy by citizen approval. Will it keep that in mind when it goes along with a directive of seven people who want to change our City?

The Lake Worth Citizens group is well intentioned in that it recognizes we have major problems of huge proportions and its founder wants to solicit support from other concerned citizens. The best way to ever affect change is to first sit down with others and hash it out, perhaps coming up with some proposals that might work. We can all sit back and do nothing or take a strong dose of reality at what is happening in our country and try and do something. Mr. Wood does believe that the power should remain in WE THE PEOPLE according to our Constitution but "it was lost to those leaders acting in the name of government, such as politicians, bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, etc."

I wish that I could have received a better feel as to what this Group really wants to achieve. I didn’t.