Pamela Winchester's recent guest editorial asking voters to approve Amendment 4 made several baseless claims. The first claim was the existing taxpayer subsidizes new development by up to 40 percent. Let's face it, folks, anyone can make numbers say anything. For example, I have a study that shows the building industry pumped more than $1 billion into the local economy at its peak, eclipsing the costs created by new development (schools, roads, police/fire) by more than $500 million. However, I urge you to forget about studies for a moment and consider what you know.
What you know is that good jobs are few and far between. What you know is the amount of taxes you pay on your home may increase, even though your property value decreased. What you know is this area appears to be dying a slow death.
Considering what we know, I urge you to think about the implications of the successful passage of Amendment 4. Business people are telling you businesses (thus jobs) will not move to Florida if they have to wait to be placed on a ballot with the hopes of being approved by the electorate. Why has the Hometown Democracy group written these business leaders off?
News flash: Jobs can go elsewhere!
If Amendment 4's passage further restricts business and the building industry -- which is already down 80 percent from the peak -- who do you think the government is going to turn to in order to pay for all the services new development has always paid for? The answer is you.
The only thing the people want now is a chance to make a decent living, the ability to put food on the table and pay for a roof over their heads. If growth were to occur, thousands of local blue-collar workers go back to work.
Unfortunately, growth is nowhere in sight today, and consumer confidence is near record lows.
The bottom line is, when you take the emotions out of the debate and consider only the repercussions of what will occur if Amendment 4 is enacted, you begin to see why so many people oppose it, including this newspaper's editorial board!
GREG BLOSE II, Port Orange
