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It is now clear, as was before 2008, that our county government, like AIG, did not see something coming. The variances of the situation are not the same; however, the concept remains the same.
The county government tries to appease certain groups of individuals by vaguely stating information about how good or how bad our situation is depending on tax-revenues. Likewise, AIG made some really big mistakes by assuming five times the amount of capital their company had on-hand as assets, in the form of bad debt, swapped insurance holdings.
When our chips are looking down, our county government tries to, again, appease certain groups of individuals over others. However, with AIG it was a lot different. The company had dug a hole that it could not get out of no matter what. It was caused by a lot of unethical and nonpragmatic business decisions by those deemed as experts.
So now, here we are as a county, at the precipice of what we all already know is a dire situation. We already have the in-fighting, the name calling, and the finger pointing. But the one thing that we do not have is the solution.
We are being told that our own experts are working toward a fixable situation, but what any logical-thinking person would see this as is a Band-Aid on top of a mortal wound. As I have already stated through previous viewpoints, what our county really needs right now is clarity on vague issues, honesty on how dire the situation really is, concrete solutions to our current standing, and a long-term plan for our county's future, which should include protocol-like steps as to what services should be suspended first until they can be afforded again.
If I were in the commissioners' shoes right now, I would be telling the constituents exactly what I knew would be best for the county and its future, even if it meant the doom of my future. The people of a great land deserve direct answers and even though some may fear the outcome of the situation, the people will stand behind those leading the way because their trust and faith are willfully given.
I, for one, would be much more appreciative to receive more concise, direct and practical long-term solutions to our woes so that we can fix our present, plan for our future, and actually leave something intact for our generations to come.
Steven Ellis
Gainesville