la liberté avant tout
By Marianela Toledo and Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog MIAMI — Are direct government incentives for job creation the path to prosperity? Not a chance, says oneFlorida economist. Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, professor of economics atFlorida International University in Miami, points to the misdirected aims of temporary jobs programs introduced en masse in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — With the election season intensifying, candidates are looking to the mass collection of tea party groups statewide for support and endorsements. In nearly all of Florida’s 67 counties, there are more than 100 tea party groups, among other concerned citizen groups, according to FloridaTeaParty.net, which bills itself as…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog ST PETERSBURG — Imagine a congressman who has been in Washington, D.C,. long enough to witness the drawing down of theVietnam War, the shake-up of Watergate, the perilous Iran hostage situation, and the fall of the Berlin Wall — not to mention every significant political event of the 1990s and 2000s. Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Young, of…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— Ever thought of taking all those saved sick days and vacation days and exchanging them for some cold, hard cash? That’s the promotional offer being handed out to Florida state employees when they retire, resign or receive their pink slip, as enshrined in state law. Public sector employees were awarded $51.7…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — It is a standard claim that has become irrefutable mantra in Sunshine State politics. “As goes the Tampa media market so goes Florida,”Tallahassee-based Democratic strategist Steve Schaletold the New York Times during the Republican presidential primary in January. “As I4 corridor goes, so goes Florida,” wrote theWashington Times editorial board at the beginning of the 2008 presidential cycle….
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — Often seen brandishing party talking points on national television and defending the president’s economic record in campaign speeches across the country, there are growing indications that U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, moonlighting as the Democratic National Committee chair, may need to begin defending her own record to keep her job come election…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA — The congressman with a knack for colorful hyperbole and an audible distaste for Republicans is back After losing District 8 to Republican Daniel Webster in the 2010 midterm elections, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson now is aiming for the newly configured and Democratic-friendly 9th Congressional District, south of Orlando….
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— Honoring years of legal precedence, a federal judge has ruled that maintaining fair and legitimate voter registration rolls is probably a good idea, especially in the vote-challenged state of Florida. Previous examinations by the state yielded a list of over 200,000 suspected ineligible voters still on the registration lists across the Sunshine State —…
By Marianela Toledo and Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog MIAMI— After the Supreme Court‘s 5-4 ruling upholding the mandatory purchase of health insurance, much concern has been raised about the now-constitutional ‘health tax’ that Americans will be required to be pay. Florida officials were quick to point to the “ultimate deception” of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Congress that passed…
By Yaël Ossowski | Florida Watchdog TAMPA— The kindling that has been fueling partisan debates and sparking protests during the past three years has finally met its fate in the Supreme Court. All measures adopted by the Congress were upheld by the court, including the provision requiring insurance coverage and the expansion of Medicaid. The Patient Protection…