Redistribution

It has been a long standing claim by the Republican Party, especially nationally, that Democrats are nothing but a bunch of evil liberals that believe in taking a person's hard earned money and giving it to those who are too lazy to work. Basically it is the 'Redistribution of Wealth' argument that we have heard so loudly over the past couple of years. Many also call it subsidization or the act of the government subsidizing a particular group in an effort to assist that particular group. Taking money from one group and giving it to another is redistribution. The Federal government has been subsidizing ethanol productions which is why our gasoline and products made with corn have become so expensive. The State of Florida does this with its own tourist agency that helps to advertise for a tourism market that should be able to advertise itself. Osceola County did this just a month back when they decided to subsidize the fire fees of some groups but not make any attempt to lower fees for the average home owner. And finally in the redistribution list, we were surprised when a local City Commissioner claimed that he was behind another effort to redistribute local wealth.

City of Kissimmee Commissioner Art Otero is proudly standing behind his request that the Kissimmee Utility Authority find ways reduce the electric bills to small business owners. His request has already been put into action and will reduce the electric bills of approximately 6,000 small businesses that consume less than 1,500 kilowatt-hours per month. For those businesses that consume more than that, they will be hit with a fee increase of 2.9 percent per kilowatt-hour for the same service. Basically, Commissioner Otero who is a Republican, has championed the redistribution of wealth from some of our county's biggest employers to those who are able to keep their energy costs low. Oh, did we mention that these same larger scale employers also pay more in taxes and fees than the 6,000 small businesses added together. Seems fair doesn't it?

While the WayneWho staff understands the desire of Commissioner Otero to help the small business community, we would urge someone with even the most basic understanding of business economics to go over ideas like this before they are put into action. Finding ways to cripple our largest employers and paving a path to more local layoffs in the private markets is not sound economic policy. Hurting the businesses that pay the most in taxes, which is what every government is crying for, makes no sense at all. Creating another barrier to brining in larger businesses into our community is economically dangerous at best. Basically, Commissioner Otero and the brains at KUA have created one of the largest obstacles to economic development we have seen so far. A 'Small Business Subsidization Usage Fee' is just not smart for the future of the City of Kissimmee. We would hope that next time someone has what they think is a bright idea, they will think before they act.