Yes the Florida legislature and the governor pulled the trigger on SB 360 and killed off growth management in the state of Florida. So in collusion with the privateers who left us the wreckage of the real estate bust, they want us to do it all over again. First, I urge everyone to scrutinize the development decisions of their local governments and raise Holy Hell when they start selling out our communities to irresponsible developers (I call them "privateers.")
Next, even more importantly in the long run, we need a new model for development, one that focuses not just on private profit but on the public good and the good of the planet. The idea that large centralized (and centralizing) institutions like the state, the federal government, "Wall Street" finance, multinational corporations, corporate media, etc. will serve our communities and local economies well is now a discredited ideology, in my opinion. Like other discredited ideologies of aggrandized power (such as Monarchy, Communism, Fascism, etc.), these institutions may serve a purpose for a time, but they begin to break down because they become largely self-serving at a terrible expense to the majority of society. The mythologies and mental edifices that support their aggrandizement also begin to show strain.
I'm not suggesting that we overthrow these institutions - that would not be possible or wholly desirable now - but I do suggest that we put our democratic voices, personal energies, and economic power into another way of organizing society and the economy.
I urge everyone to join the movement to build local living economies. To be truly green and to get at the root of the true obstables to human development and healing the planet, this is the direction we should take. To find out more about this movement, check out the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies or the American Independent Business Alliance.
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