Guest Column By Josiah Neeley
Florida has a diverse and beautiful natural environment, ranging from the Everglades to the beaches of the Florida panhandle. The state is also vulnerable to a variety of extreme weather events, such as flooding and hurricanes, which are projected to become more severe in the coming decades due to climate change. Protecting the state against these events could be a costly undertaking. Various proposals seek to minimize the risks through new infrastructure projects such as sea walls. But in deciding how best to adapt to extreme weather risk, Florida should be sure to consider using the state’s “natural infrastructure” to protect itself in a less costly and more sustainable way.
When the pandemic began the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended free meals to school-age children all year long, including the summer months. The program will no longer be available at the end of this school year and many food insecure families are now facing a summer without school food assistance programs. The situation is made even more dire as inflation and the cost-of-living soars, leaving millions of individuals and families in critical need of year-round nutritional assistance.
Leading a corrections department and prisons is challenging. A successful leader mustwork with government entities, employees, unions, and their accompanying agendas, all while simultaneously dealing with individuals that our society cannot tolerate. An effective corrections leader must balance what is good for inmates and staff with what is good for our shared society.
Every year, Florida public agencies are required to develop so-called strategic plans. But instead of being strategic and linking to adding measurable value to Floridians, these efforts shift to the planning of tactics and assume that existing agency goals are useful or even correct. And each year we are often disappointed with what our agencies deliver to our citizens. This disappointment comes from agencies not asking and answering the right questions.
This Ideas in Action, by the Harris Group, details the importance of STEM jobs in Florida.
Last year, Florida TaxWatch called for increased spending for public defenders and state attorneys to ensure justice is available for defendants and victims involved in Florida’s court system. The legislature heeded TaxWatch’s recommendation in the 2014 budget. This year, lawmakers should extend their commitment to funding the justice system to law enforcement by investing in the replacement of the state’s law enforcement radio system.
There are so many words that I could use to detail the challenges facing the banking industry in Florida and throughout the country. But, sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words...
Limited health care resources combined with an increased demand for quality care in Florida has led to essential innovations in our current health care delivery system. Telemedicine is one such innovation that Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare has implemented to expand access to care and extend the reach and impact of health care providers.
This Ideas in Action piece features opinion-editorials published by the Tallahassee Democrat in October 2013. They are republished here with permission from the authors.
This Ideas in Action is written by Roger Kaufman, Ph.D., professor emeritus, Florida State University, and Distinguished Research Professor at the Sonora Institute of Technology (Mexico). The piece discusses how a useful strategic plan can help a University.
Dr. Roger Kaufman opinion piece on how companies should measure their long-term viability.
"With the premise it's only a matter of time before the next big hurricane strike, this report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, details the current property insurance situation and takes a wide-ranging look at possible solutions."
"This report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, outlines the critical elements and a strategic roadmap to achieve sustainable government transformation. "
"This report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, defines the necessity of improving the state's voluntary pre-K program. Weaknesses in the current programs are scrutinized and solutions are proposed. "
(From Ideas in Action: verbatim transcript of Jan. 2011 inaugural address)
"This report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, makes the case for policy that will rein in spending while promoting economic growth and incentivizing job creation in the private sector. "
"This report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, details the salient points of each of these amendments before making recommendations. "
"Written independently of Florida TaxWatch, this report explains why high schools must put a premium on teaching science, technology, engineering and mathematics"
"With the premise that congress is 'spending without thought of tomorrow' this report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, makes the case for a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced federal budget. "
"With the premise that the best-intentioned policies can be harmful, this report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, delves into both the benefits and negative aspects of assessment limitations. "
"This report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, explains how the Florida must make dramatic improvements in math and science education if it is to establish a solid foundation of innovation. "
"Written independently of Florida TaxWatch, this report goes beyond the decimal points to explain other means of evaluating the efficacy of budget items. "
"This report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, provides case studies of how selected universities responded innovatively to a recession-induced fiscal crisis. "
"With the premise that Florida's hospitality industry is in danger of being taxed to unprofitability, this report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, stresses the need for caution before considering further regulation of this vital business. "
"This report, written independently of Florida TaxWatch, shows that while Florida's communications industry has already invested a great deal of capital in the state, there is much more to be done in the interest of long-term economic growth. "