For the past few months, I have been noticing a growing surge of sentiments against the mysterious Amendment 4. My daily drive down Thomasville Road towards work brings on a display of dozens of signs, billboards and lawn posts, all proclaiming “Vote NO on 4!”I was mildly intrigued, but didn’t commit to finding out more information until my dad, the most anti-bumper sticker man on the planet, showcased an enormous “Vote No on 4!” decal on his car. Seeing that his dedication to this cause usurped his unwavering hatred for car adhesives peaked my interest, and I knew I had to dig deeper into this issue.
According to Florida2010.org, this is what the proposed amendment is all about:
“Amendment 4 is a proposed amendment of Florida’s constitution which would require taxpayer-funded referenda on all changes to local government comprehensive plans. In other words, this ‘Vote on Everything’ amendment would force Floridians – not the representatives they elect – to decide hundreds of technical comprehensive plan changes each year.”
Reading through the credible information about Amendment 4 has left me baffled as to why anyone would support this. Basically, the people would have to do our representatives job; the people will be forced to pay increased taxes to support time-wasting processes; local businesses would suffer if they ever planned on growing; and voters would be held responsible to become informed and make wise decisions about thousands of different organizations’ proposed plans. This amendment is unreasonable and prone to be poorly-executed.
According to this write-up featured by a local Tallahassee real estate organization, Floridians would have to vote on about 10,599 proposed plans per year, based on data collected over the past four years. Do you really have the time or energy to properly educate yourself on hundreds of different plans? Isn’t that why we elect capable representatives? The Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce provided a sample ballot of what voters can expect to see if this proposition passes. The technical jargon of the ballot would leave most voters scratching their heads.
This amendment can affect your university, our local businesses, the rock gym, everywhere we value. A new billboard outside my office states that 262,000 jobs will be lost if Amendment 4 is passed. If you are a student who will enter the job market in the next few years, you really should become educated on this issue. Visit Ballotpedia for non-biased information representing both sides. It is our duty as young American citizens to participate in these elections, especially with the fate of such a contentious issue directly in our hands. I urge you to VOTE NO ON 4!
Check out the Vote No on Amendment 4 Facebook page.
