HOUSING CRISIS - OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR CARLOS ALVAREZ

E-mail: mayor@miamidade.gov

cc: jeb.bush@myflorida.com

Honorable Mayor Carlos Alvarez:

I am sending this e-mail to you with a copy to Governor Jeb Bush, and I am posting it on my blog: http://ercianblogspot.com. On 8/17/06, I sent an e-mail to Governor Jeb Bush regarding the home insurance crisis. Today, I am appealing to you to work with the Governor in trying to find a solution to that problem. Related to the excessive premiums the average person has to pay for insurance are the high costs we find in the housing market.

Seniors and the average worker cannot find a place to live, a place they can afford. To allow all these foreign investors come here to invest and speculate in the real estate market is, I guess, something we cannot avoid in a free market society like the one we live in, but could we not put a VERY HEAVY tax or surcharge on properties bought by non-residents of the state, in order to bring prices down?

I am no expert on these matters, and have no idea how to fix this problem. That is why I am placing the burden on you. Public officials like you, the county manager, the county commissioners, the governor, and the state legislature: you are the people who have the power, the knowledge, and the resources to find those solutions. We did not elect you to show empathy for our community problems. We elected you to find solutions to those problems. I personally thank you for your accomplishments in other areas, but we need your help solving the housing and the insurance crisis.

As if we did not have enough problems dealing with the volatile behavior of the real estate market, we have to deal with the problem of corrupt public officials. Mayor Alvarez, I know where your heart is regarding corruption, and I thank you for that stance; but I want to see the lowlifes who betray the public trust punished. I do not care who they are or what their title is. Work with our Investigators and Prosecutors to find them and give them long jail terms. Do the same with all those lobbyists or business people that offer bribes to our elected or appointed representatives.

If we were out in the Old West, I would say, “Hang’em high,” because these thieves deserve that and more. Whether they realize it or not, people get sick and die because of economic worries. Couples get divorced because money becomes a big issue. Others go crazy. In summary, so-called white-collar crime does more harm than the crimes committed by regular criminals. Just compare the numbers of people affected by one and by the other. When a street criminal stabs or mugs one person, we have just one victim. When a corrupt entrepreneur and a corrupt public official conspire to do their dirty deeds, they stab and mug more than a million poor souls in this our county.

Thank you for your time, and for listening to me. I am just one of the many who need help. Once you examine the situation, please let me know what steps you are taking on our behalf.

Yours truly, Joseph Marchante

E-mail address: jmarchante@ercian.org

I am the author of the book “Ercian Testament.” I publish it free at www.ercian.org