This Christmas, the leaders and pillars of Broward county left the same thing in our stockings-a big dirty lump of coal. But this year, we expected it. Through investigations and depositions we have come to realize the true nature of those entrusted with the keys to our community.
Our leaders “price” is cheap. They are easily fooled. They are seduced by the simplest pleasures. They think of themselves at all times, never worried about the public or the comsequences of their actions. It doesn’t take much to sell out the men, women and children of Broward county.
A steak dinner. A Rolex watch. Fancy cufflinks. A job for a family member. A commission on a land deal. A evening with an escort. A day on the water in a fancy boat. A lease on a new Honda. A golf cart. New furniture for a second home. A suite at a Miami Dolphins game.
Our politicians are not the only ones so easily seduced.
This culture of corruption has seduced our business leaders; Men and women who forget the duty owed to their employees and shareholders in exchange for a night of champagne and lap dances at Solid Gold or floor seats at a Heat game.
Society types have forgotten their families contributions to the building of our county; They are eager to be “seen” with power brokers and politicos at the charity events. Events that have little to do with charity. They build foundations and trusts to further their own greed instead of help those who need it most.
Government bureaucrats game the system for their own greed. They hand out contracts to friends. They ignore their duty if it interferes with their greed. They discourage honest employees from doing their jobs. They move from agency to agency, spreading the disease, knowing it next to impossible to catch them. Or, even worse, they know no one is watching them.
But this year, we did not cry when we discovered the lumps of coal in our stockings. Each passing year, we become wise to their games. For decades, they prospered under our ignorance. Things that were once written off as “fantasy” are now readily believed.
We know the games they’re playing. Most of them still think you don’t care. They think you’ll maintain the status quo.
They think you will ignore the school board members hauled off in handcuffs or the ones resigning for “family reasons” or the ones who spew epithets that would make Archie Bunker blush.
They hope you won’t notice commissioners under investigation, or the ones that hire bagmen for corrupt land developers or the ones that beat “most” of the ethical charges brought against them.
They trust you will forget they constantly jump from political office to political office; Their campaigns always financed by the same powers that be.
They think you’ll never find out about the rampant nepotism all across the county. Most of these folks are so incompetent it endangers the financial and physical well-being of all of Broward.
Those who try to expose them are threatened. They will take their job away. Or a family member’s job. They will threaten lawsuits. They are harassed online by politicians and their supporters. Their children are harassed at school.
But the worst part, most of these whistleblowers were ignored. Letters to the editor went unpublished. Pleas for help from law enforcement went unanswered. They were left to be portrayed as angry gadflies swarming around the podium at government meetings.
That has changed. The media and some in law enforcement are listening. Many of us listen now.
This information is our greatest gift. We need to put this knowledge to good use. In 2012, we will have the power. They think they can dupe us with fancy mailers and ad campaigns. But make no mistake, they do fear us. They are worried. They know we will vote in January and March and August and November. Each election is another chance to take them down, piece by piece. They know the secrets are coming out. They are abandoning their usual gameplans; it is now each man for himself.
They know we can stop them. We need to spread the word…
