Mayor Shearin: News Press “slant” did locally what Fox News couldn’t do nationally

Fox news followed a couple of US Senators’ lead and picked out two projects in St. Joe, totaling about $100,000 out of $6 billion as an example of government waste. The first question, “would you take the money again” was geared to put these projects, and the city, in an opportunistic, bad light. My, off the cuff question, “What are you smoking?” stopped the intended slant of the story in its tracks and allowed me to position the relevance of these two projects to the interviewer. Since the News Press chose to ignore the focus of the interview, I would like to emphasize the talking points I used for the interview. You decide if “What are you smoking” should have been more important to emphasize.
To start with, the government uses no common sense when they hand out money they don’t have. It is stupid economics that no family or business could live with. The stimulus program is nothing more than a wild spending binge on our grandchildrens’ checkbook. But it would be stupid for us to not get whatever we can from the package.
In national politics, fair play and equal distribution has been replaced by the ‘scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” mentality…cities like St. Joe will and should take whatever money they can from the “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you”…tax funded piggy bank.
I see our case, getting stimulus money for a martini bar and a Brazilian steak house…in hopes of breathing hope in a downtown area that’s been around since the days of Jesse James and the Pony Express…is appreciated.
Do I wish federal stimulus money would turn St. Joe into the next silicon valley? Yes. But we all know thats about as likely as Paris Hilton having talent.
So I did and will again take whatever I can get to help spur interest and development in our town. We have cradle to grave, government entitlement programs that pay people for not pulling their load. On the other hand, the owners of the martini bar and steakhouse have their sweat and money invested in a small business. Let’s face it, small businesses deserve just as much help as bands, financial institutions and auto makers.
Although grateful for the stimulus package, our government should be spending their time and our money coming up with programs to help working people with tax reform, spending on infrastructure and developing more cost efficient energy alternatives…than bars and restaurants. Until then, if and when our federal know-it-alls decide to hand out financial aid…to help finance anything in St. Joe, I’ll camp out to get the hand out.shearin-mayor-ken