Miami Florida, A Lack of Political Vision and Leadership In Transportation

Miami Florida, A Lack of Political Vision and Leadership in Transportation
By: Rene Velez Aug. 06th, 2008

Miami is the “Gateway to Central and South America!”. That has always made sense to me. It is a statement that is visionary an outward looking. Despite the fact that statement looks out from Miami we seem to have forgotten what Miami needs to be. Or at least where it should be from a public transportation point of view.

The signs to our dependence on transportation systems are all around us. Yet we have not created a vision of what transportation should be in Miami. Why is that? Just look at our seaport. The Miami Seaport hosts the largest concentration of cruise ships in the world. Just about all go to or make a brief stop in the Caribbean and continue to all points on the globe. The same seaport has experienced tremendous growth in cargo transport ships. With imports and exports that rival many of the busiest ports in the world. We are thriving and dependent on the sustained growth of this transportation system. Lets look at our airports. Miami International Airport alone is a major hub for the Caribbean and Central and South America. It too has seen tremendous growth within the last decade. Not only has a transit point or hub but it has a substantial air cargo business that also rivals with many air cargo and transportation airport anywhere in the world. I should also mention we have a sizeable aircraft maintenance and parts business that operates in South Florida. It is a point of destination for aircraft repairs and maintenance for many aircrafts. Here too we depend and thrive on air transport. A quick look to our neighbors in Ft. Lauderdale and they too have bustling seaports and airports with just as much growth. In fact they absorb a good amount of overflow that might have come into Miami.

Just as a side note, the aviation business in South Florida started many years ago when Pan Am started flying their clipper airships out of what is now the Coconut Grove Marina. Today we host a very high concentration of flight school students that come here to learn to fly and will go into commercial aviation all around the world. Further we should remember that Doral has come to be what it is due to international trade that utilizes both Miami International and the Port of Miami. All of this, in my opinion, was hard evidence the writing was on the wall we needed a transportation network long ago.


Having made clear these facts (which we have known for decades) and knowing we are the “gateway”, knowing we have a high concentration of trade, tourism, banking, transient visitors …..why is it that our political leaders simply fail to make the connection that mass public transportation is vital to our economy and sustainability? Why have we done such a poor job at establishing a reliable, timely and affordable transportation network that can be used effectively? This is not a leap of faith! This is a plain as day reality.


Not Enough Land

One excuse I have heard is that we do not have sufficient contiguous land to build an uninterrupted railway. In particular an east west which is badly needed. I suppose there is some truth to that. But I should say that if you go back to the 1960’s there probably wasn’t one then either. In all fairness I don’t think many people would of agreed that Miami would become what it is today. Be that as it may, there is no reason why a system can’t be built. Yes there will be traffic delays and there will be inconvenience and of course we will have to utilize eminent domain in order to get it done. But there is no reason it can’t get done. I know that studies have been done to have rail lines that travel east west from the turnpike to the west, along the turnpike extension and Dolphin Expressway through the airport, and either down 112 or 836 into downtown Miami. This is doable, feasible and would create a much needed link between west Dade, the Airport and downtown Miami and the Port of Miami. Wow! Someone did have the vision but it died. We need to bring this alive again.

With regards to contiguous space. I ask this. Do any of our political leaders ever look beyond their noses? We have major overhead power lines that take a large swath of “restricted use land” (as in only for power lines) that runs from about Card Sound Road to the south, just west of the Turnpike heading North/South and cuts East all the way past Ft. Lauderdale. Has anyone ever thought of using that land for a Westside North/South route for a rail line with a bus feeder system to the already existing Eastside North/South Metrorail? Here are some benefits that. You can incorporate mixed use office and retail spaces which are income generating, you have space for park and drive centers, which are income generating, you can partner with FPL because covered or underground cables will not be knocked out in hurricanes. Oh! And of course the real side benefit is that you have augmented the transportation system and just made life in Miami more affordable. I know I have missed some benefits here but I would be happy if we got what I mentioned. The only drawback is some communities may chant the old NIMBY (not in my backyard). My feeling is you can’t win them all.

The Money

Despite whatever issues there might be to developing a transportation network in Miami, the biggest problem is a lack of funds. The only reason Metrorail got built was because federal dollars were allocated towards getting that system built. So what are our politicians doing about that? Isn’t that their job to push for the needs of this growing metropolis and to explain to our federal government that this growing metropolis pays large amounts of federal income tax dollars? Do you think that Congress and all those Presidential and Senatorial wannabes don’t know that South Florida pays a big role in every major election? Despite whatever federal apathy may exist for our needs here in South Florida, our elected officials managed to get a half penny sales tax increase for transportation when many thought it would never pass. So if they managed that, why could they not muster enough courage, tenacity and vision to sell a comprehensive transportation system to the people of South Florida? The reality is that our political leadership does not have enough vision or the intestinal fortitude to lead into the future. Despite the fact that many good things are done by our leaders, they have failed miserably in this area. In fact in the most recent half penny increase, they botched the projection and sold the plan to the public without disclosing major losses that existed at the time. They failed to realize the half penny sales tax they asked for would not improve public transportation as promised but would go instead, to cover existing operating shortfalls. In my opinion that’s gross mismanagement. What recourse do we, as a community, have on this issue? If this were a public corporation, as shareholders we could take the management to court and seek damages. As citizens it seems we have less rights, even though we do in fact have an ownership stake.

Bad Timing

Today, Miami is over the barrel. There does not exist, a major metropolitan area the likes of Miami, anywhere in the United States that does not have a major public transportation system. Even those major cities that do have them today are strained by the increase in riders, due in large part to high oil and gas prices. Many major cities have already put in orders for more buses, rail cars and the like. Potentially, this deficiency could have a major impact on the future growth of this city. Nothing turns away major businesses that want to be at our “Gateway” than bad transportation issues, massive traffic, underperforming schools, overcrowding and high costs to living. We seem to have it all.

Conclusion

Normally, I ask that people get involved, vote and to write letters to our politicos. The urgency of this problem is beyond that. Nothing short of community leaders forming coalitions and committees to oversea planning and implementation will resolve this issue. Politics is a foregone idea. For those of you who doubt me on this, start going back in time a read the articles and look at the major budget changes, contractor changes, management changes, public oversight conclusions (I should say public overblindness) to building airport terminals at the Miami Airport. This will take some fist pounding, marches and national embarrassment and we also need to vote people out of office. We need to do public /private ventures to help defray the cost. (as in public funding, private management) Worst of all is, if we want this in our community, we might well have to find a way to pay for some of it ourselves. There goes another penny in sales tax! But I must say, I want to get credit for it somehow. I refuse to pay for public official incompetence.

What is wrong with Elitism?

What is wrong with Elitism?
By: Rene Velez Aug 01st, 2008.

Many years ago when studying about communism and the Russian revolution, a discussion broke out as to why the Mensheviks would not want to overthrow the Bolsheviks. Remember the Mensheviks were the lower class and the Bolsheviks were the upper class, who were in power and had more wealth. I should also add the Bolsheviks were the minority. The discussion basically said that the Mensheviks would not overthrow the Bolsheviks because the Bolsheviks were what the Mensheviks aspired to be. Namely, wealthy and in power. Ever since that day I saw a great flaw in that statement. It does not address the fact that the masses have certain basic needs and that if those needs are not met, inevitably the majority will force the minority out.

I bring this up simply because we keep hearing in the news about how the middle class continues to struggle just to make ends meet. In fact many studies show the middle class is loosing ground. And to add insult to injury the rich continue to prosper and to gain more wealth. In fact the number of billionaires continues to increase. Is there something wrong with this scenario? What’s so bad about being rich? It seems as though suddenly the whole world is turning on the super rich. My heart really pours out to these poor unfortunate few. (Not really)

Rich, a bad thing?

My feeling is; Wealth in and of itself is not bad! It’s a good thing that we have more billionaires today than yesterday. I admit it, I wish I were super rich. This means that there is more potential to create jobs, invest in capital goods and create services. This stimulates the economy and the hopes are that there will be more wealthy households. We would hope that these households would produce family members that are well educated, and in lump sum contribute to society.

There’s the Rub

There is nothing wrong with being super rich. The real issue is that with wealth comes responsibility. Or at least we hope that the super wealthy assume responsibility. The Batman series makes it a point to stress that Bruce Wayne, a billionaire, takes onto himself the responsibility of Gotham City. Not for personal gain but for the good of the people of Gotham. Why should this responsibility be born by the super rich? It should be obvious. Money yields a degree of power and influence. Most of us know this, even though I have seen many of the rich shy away from it. Many of the rich and perhaps, especially the new rich seem to want to abdicate their responsibility. It’s almost as though once they make it, they don’t want to take on responsibility. Perhaps, their definition of rich is that they have a carefree life with no responsibility. Perhaps, that is the real definition of super rich. It’s not how much money you have it’s about how little you have to worry. After all being responsible brings about a struggle and all the worries one can dream of. Who wants more problems? The truth is that being rich involves taking on a wealth of problems. In fact being super rich has its own set of problems.

The Cons

Being super rich brings about a normal tendency to adopt conspicuous consumption. We read about these things all the time. You’re so wealthy you buy extravagant and luxurious items. That 23 bedroom home with 40 bathrooms, 5 kitchens, 50 car garage, home theatre for 75, complete with an Olympic pool and tennis court. Did I mention that there are only 4 members in the family? Did I mention that most of the time the house is empty? Conspicuous consumption can be obscene, and it certainly does stir curiosity. If you ask some of the super rich, some actually live in fear. Why? They fear that their life style and wealth could actually bring them harm. I must admit, if I were super wealthy I think I might develop a certain level of paranoia. There are a lot of sick people out there. You could be killed by some mentally ill person who wants to show up on the nightly news. At best being super wealthy might bring about a certain celebrity status. This has pit falls also. The super famous, will tell you that it is extremely exhausting to have photographers popping up out of the bushes, to take a picture. Or snapping photos while you’re in the bathroom. Most people take for granted going for a walk or going to the mall. Celebrities, have to often give these small pleasures up altogether. It’s not easy being rich. It’s easy to see that security concerns, privacy and managing wealth costs money and takes up time. I once was discussing with a new client who had come into great wealth, he had to be more prudent in spending his money, investing and tracking his tax exposure. Being wealthy does by necessity require more administration than you might think. Then there are those that are simply trying to steal your money. Everybody from the landscaper to your investment manager charges you more cause you have money. Sometimes the worst culprits are the immediate family! People who are rich wind up paying more simply because…they are rich.

Being super rich has some serious down sides. Perhaps that is why many shy away from accepting responsibility.

Elitism and Indifference

Most people tend to gravitate and socialize with members of society who are like they are. It’s hard to socialize with people who are less educated and less priviledged. This may sound like elitism, but is it really? If your life revolves around meeting the super wealthy and influential, and making trips to far and distant places, and buying very expensive luxury items it’s kind of difficult to relate to Joe and Mary Workman who , work and struggle for a living. Joe and Mary work so hard to keep up and to take care of the children that planning a vacation and the associated cost are more stressful than staying at home. Joe and Mary Workman have a totally different view and set of preoccupations than the super wealthy. Does this mean that there is no connection? Absolutely not! Elitism is not because you are wealthy or because you do not often socialize with people outside of your sphere. It is because you are so out of touch that you can no longer relate to the rest of the world. Herein lies the crux of the problem. How can, the super rich, those who have power and influence best understand and contribute to society as a whole when they really don’t understand or even relate to how 98% of how the world lives. Indifference is a sign of how wealth corrupts the wealthy. You might say indifference among the super rich is a sign of becoming a victim of your own success. This is not good! You can say, indifference is the real elitism. The super rich usually pride themselves on the material things that they posses, on the high level of education they attain, and the influence they have. There is a level of status and culture that is portrayed if you are super rich. However, indifference truly is a sign of a poor education and low class. You can not truly be the upper crust if you do not understand your everyday citizen. I wonder how the politically elite fair in this scenario. Should these people really be your representative?

The Etiquette of Social Responsibility

Being truly wealthy and cultured demands Responsibility. If you loved good wines and were very wealthy you could potentially drink yourself to death on fine wines. That would not be good. It’s also not responsible. So therefore, if you are the crust of society, or at minimum, you care about society and are very wealthy, good culture and form would demand that you accept your respective level of responsibility for society. What does that mean? I does not necessarily require giving away your money! Having good etiquette in social responsibility may not cost you a fortune. Giving away your money may not necessarily be an efficient use of assets to bring about the greater good of humanity. Take Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Both of these Mega Billionaires are more interested in using their wealth to bring about new ways of thinking to solve social problems. OF course they use money to do this, but not by just giving it away. Such basic problems as fighting diseases and feeding the hungry, providing for education. Just throwing money at these problems is not the solution. We know welfare systems typically do not work. You have to create a mechanism and a culture to provide for sustainability.

Your social responsibility lies in you doing something to influence and create a better life for those who are less fortunate. Another way to look at this is not to treat the symptom, but rather treat the root cause.


Conclusion


The true sign of wealth, influence and power is how you use your knowledge and skill to bring about changes that create and sustain your wealth and create wealth and opportunity for those below you. The latter is what I call Social Responsibility. I hope you might be asking yourself…You don’t really need money to do this. What you need is influence. Right?

Yes. Perhaps that is the greatest contribution the new generation has for us all. They may not be the super rich, but collectively they have a great deal of influence. What’s more is that they are using their influence as a group to bring about social responsibility. In fact they are telling us where we are not responsible. They are dictating to employers what they expect. They are hitting the polls and voting. They want a better government, more fuel efficient cars, public transportation and the list goes on. Perhaps there is no better sign to their determination than the number of startups by this new generation. Maybe the revolution of the Mensheviks is here again.