Too many sweetheart deals in Lauderdale | Letters to the editor
It was refreshing to read the June 26 letter to the editor from Greg Everett that didn’t regurgitate the usual pablum about “public-private partnerships,” the “P3s” that are supposed to be win-win deals for the county or city and the for-profit entities that propose these deals.
Simply put, the scheme works like this: Developers swoop in with lobbyists and lawyers and make ludicrous promises to politicians, who swallow them whole. The so-called partnership profits the private company and transfers risks and costs to the public.
Who knows what other handshakes happen outside the four corners of executed contracts? If the deals were so good, profits so sure, and risks so small, what company would agree to share anything with a local government? They go with their lobbyists and lawyers, foist the risk onto taxpayers and pocket the profits.
There’s no incentive for elected officials to scrutinize these deals, whether for vendors operating public parks, the bullet dodged in a proposed $100 billion county-city hall, or the short-term boondoggle at the DRV PNK soccer stadium that the letter writer explained so clearly. There’s little advantage for county or city staff to rock the boat. They want to keep their jobs, so they carry on without making waves.
City and county contracts for years have included automatic escalators of 3% or more. Private companies can demand and get cost reductions from their vendors as vendors gain experience and save on economies of scale. If the Sun Sentinel looked into the details of city and county contracts and their P3 deals, there would be material for many articles that would prompt reconsideration of this use of public money and resources for private gain.
James Carbone, Fort Lauderdale
On boycotting Trump
Buffalo Bills player Jordan Poyer has cancelled his charity golf tournament at Trump National Doral golf course near Miami because of the ex-president’s politics. “I was really excited for this tournament,” Poyer said. “Unfortunately, numerous teams up north have pulled out of the tournament … because of where it’s at.”
Am I to believe that NFL players are boycotting Trump over his politics, such as securing the border, cheaper energy and lower taxes?
The middle class has endured a nightmare since Joe Biden took office, and is in “Survive ‘Till ‘25” mode. But these clueless millionaire players are boycotting the top GOP presidential candidate, with a proven track record of economic prosperity, who will make lives instantly better by reopening the energy spigots of the country on the day of his next inauguration. They have a problem with this?
It’s time we NFL fans took a stand against this ignorance and cruelty that players are clearly advocating for. I’m challenging Poyer to reverse his position on cancelling his charity golf tournament or face the consequences of being the poster boy for a national NFL boycott by us fed-up fans.
Eugene R. Dunn, Medford, N.Y.
Freedoms under attack
Our fundamental freedoms are being attacked by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The court’s partisan right-wing majority gutted voting rights, opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate money in elections, struck down gun safety laws and limited protections of air and water. In the year since the court overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion has been effectively banned, with extremely limited exceptions, in 14 states. Nearly 1 in 3 Americans have lost access to abortion. This can’t go on. We need to move away from these extremely partisan rulings and restore the court’s legitimacy.
Congress has a constitutional duty to act as a check on the court and restore faith in our judicial system, before it’s too late.
Nancy Simon, Pompano Beach
On the Hunter Biden case
In reply to letter writer Doris Sipos of Davie, I say this: If Hunter Biden’s name were Jared Kushner, he would have $2 billion, for no reason. That amount of money far surpasses anything the young Biden may have received. Let us see reality with both eyes — not one.
Charles Terban, Hollywood