Hi there, Northerners, from sunny Central FL!! This is the time of year when Floridians typically say, "What recession?!?!?!!" as we dodge our way thru traffic and shake our heads at the antics of tourists and snowbirds on our roads. No, this is not a message sponsored by the local chamber of commerce, but feel free to come down and visit, if you must...
I felt compelled to write this entry because I have recently been caught up in the financial decisions of my Mother. It has resulted in an inevitable disagreement, and put me more in a mood to contemplate an unpleasant subject: Money....ick!....sigh. But money is a reality, and I prefer to believe that I live my life with a reality-based worldview, despite the opinions of some of my scientist friends.
So, I suppose I can spare a few brain cells, not that I have many left, to the subjects of finance and the economy. What I mostly noticed about the economy and tourist season this year was that speed week didn't cause it's usual traffic jam this year, while bike week was more crowded than ever. This caused my cynical mind to suspect that bikers are a hardier, and more fit species than Nascar fans.... but could I prove it? No way. As usual, I have little supporting evidence beyond my own observations. My intuition tells me it makes sense, though. Not only because I am a biker myself, and I just don't get Nascar fans, but because bikers seem to be a more naturally adaptive group, whereas race fans seem more likely to be set in their ways... (anyone who can watch cars drive around in a circle for hours can safely be labelled obstinate, neh?) In any case, based on the facts I see in my small part of the world, I had to wonder if maybe bikers were more emotionally, or even financially, better equipped to handle the stresses and pressures associated with an economic downturn. It seems my Mom, and Nascar fans are probably not so well adapted, but if so, why not?
While we would probably be able to guess why bikers might be more resilient than Nascar fans with a little deductive reasoning, let's not lose sight of the bigger picture. In any economic situation, there will always be winners and losers. But more importantly, there will be survivors, and there will be casualties. It is an evolutionary truism that in every environmental change that must be dealt with, there is risk involved, along with opportunity. For myself, I am proud of the circumstances that have coelesced to make the individual characteristics that allow me to survive, whether I win or lose in the short term. I am proud of my heritage, my ancestry, my religion, my genome, and my educational choices that have made me an adaptable person. I am proud to be a biker, just as my brother is proud to be a Nascar fan. I am proud to be employed at a job where my bosses seem to appreciate my work ethics. And with my brother's help, I am proud to be able to pass along these advantages to my own children.
A Brief Update on Florida's Education Budget
A few weeks ago, Florida governor Charlie Crist announced a minor miracle. It seems the federal government had decided to ride in and save the day with a stimulus package, and not only was there to be no budget hole this year, but the '09 education budget would actually be larger than last year's!!! So, no more teacher layoffs, right? Predictably, no one believed Crist, and the preparations and battles over the layoffs continued with barely a hiccup in the process.
The good news was that the resistance to the idea of teacher layoffs has been greater than I originally expected. The outcry was mostly centered around the efforts of the educators themselves, but quickly spread to general public thanks to generous coverage by the local media... when they could tear themselves away from reporting on the tragedy of Florida's missing children! One enterprising Orlando principal even went to the attention-grabbing trouble of directly soliciting his community for donations. He was quickly slapped down by Orange county's superindtendant, but in the end, he kept his position and helped his school and his cause in general by creating controversy. His case proves that sometimes it is better to ask for forgiveness than it is to beg for permission.
And perhaps I was a little too tough on the population here in my original entry. After all, Florida's citizens have shown a commitment to education by amending the state constitution to limit the size of our classrooms. This is an extraordinary statement, and a hopeful and exemplary goal, but the problem is that we then elected a republican legislature to fulfill the challenges of this task. So far, they don't seem to be getting the message. In fact, local media has even begun to speculate that this issue may signal the end of the republican majority in Tallahassee.
Tonight, I will drink a toast to this, and tomorrow I will pray that for once, the media is right... Peace, NSB