For the greater good

I had a discussion with my buddy regarding the Florida governor’s race.  He and I share an intense disbelief that Trump was actually elected president and we both generally have a similar political mindset.  For this reason I was somewhat surprised when he said he thought Andrew Gillum was too extreme of a candidate for Florida governor and that he might actually vote for DeSantis, a Trump acolyte in most ways imaginable.

I asked him to explain what was too extreme as to me, his platform points are very similar to Bernie Sanders, a candidate I wish would have been able to vote for instead of Hilary.  My buddy didn’t like promises of free college, free healthcare, and ads that say he wants to raise taxes 1 BILLION dollars in Florida.  His premise was he didn’t necessarily think having those things free was a terrible idea but he doesn’t want to be the one footing the bill for all or most of it.

I told him I didn’t agree and it sounded like he was watching too many DeSantis ads with ONE BILLION IN TAXES and nothing else on the screen.  However when you actually dig into the proposal, you see it is far less scary and serves the greater good.  Gillum claims that companies in Florida as a result of the ridiculous Trump tax cuts (that have us posting one of our worst deficits ever btw), received approximately 3.3 billion dollars of additional revenue as a result.  I can assure you the vast amount of that money went straight to the bottom line with a ridiculously tiny amount actually benefiting the lowly average  employee.

Gillum is proposing reclaiming about a third of the federal handout to serve the greater good, not the corporate executives, not for stock buybacks, for the average Joe.  Trying to provide more affordable healthcare and making higher education more attainable for the younger generation are noble causes and worthy of investment by others.  Too many times people that do not need any assistance or help stereotype those that do as lazy or leeching off society.  Without a doubt, there are plenty of individuals that are doing just that and I condemn that behavior as strongly as anyone.  The difference is I am not willing to throw the countless legitimate people that benefit from these programs to the side to spite the abusers of the systems.

For me, I am willing to contribute more of my income to help serve the greater good.  For a large portion of our me first population, that is not the case.  For my own personal benefit, DeSantis would likely serve my needs better, however I have no hesitation in voting for Gillum.

I have very minimal hope of Gillum actually winning.  The fact that he is black means all of the closet racists in Florida, and there are a lot of them, have a reason to get all riled up.  It’s like poking a hornet’s nest.  The only chance he has is for the democratic voters to turn out in massive numbers.  If 100% of the eligible voters voted in every election, democrats would never lose in Florida or at the federal level.  Without a doubt, apathy on the democratic side is the biggest reason we are where we are today. Old angry white people, which now includes people of my generation get out and vote.

So what was the point of this rant?  Oh I don’t know.  Vote for who you want, whether it is for the greater good or just good for you personally is a decision everyone has to make for themselves.   The political climate in our country since the turn of the century has been nothing but disgusting and I see no light at the end of the tunnel.