It seems Highlands County government has an endless supply of money. With companies laying off workers, a possible recession on the way, unemployment on the rise, record mortgages being foreclosed on, gas prices going through the roof, housing insurance policies being canceled with unaffordable replacement insurance and outrageous property taxes, Highlands County is now creating four new top administration positions. What an asinine idea. Why do we need these four positions? What a waste of money. We need to trim government, not add to it. The county wastes an enormous amount of money. Look at all the county vehicles; most are brand new. And why do we allow so many county employees vehicles to drive home? I can understand the county department heads such as the county engineer, the E.O.C., and the sheriff departments needing vehicles at their disposal 24/7, but for example, what would justify the planning department to be issued vehicles to drive home? I think the county commissioners should answer this question. Why the free rides? Why four new positions when the new county administrator should be doing what those four positions require. Somebody has to pay those four inflated salaries. And guess who that is? Joe Public. Me. ...more

February 12, 2008

Behind the fight between Florida's insurance commissioner and Allstate Insurance Co. is a mystery that could have come from a John Grisham novel. ...more

January 23, 2008

MBIA Inc. plans to book more than $4 billion in losses, slash its dividend and sell $1 billion in bonds as part of a strategy unveiled Wednesday to shelter the bond insurer's crucial financial strength rating. ...more

January 10, 2008

It's time for employers to spin off their 401(k) plans. ...more

November 6, 2007

Across the country states have tried to come up with ways to hold down the cost of Medicaid, and no reform program initially showed greater promise than the Florida effort advanced by Jeb Bush. ...more

October 29, 2007

Regarding 'Canceled Coastal Insurance Policies Argue For National Disaster Fund' (Our Opinion< oct. 20): ...more

October 27, 2007

Three U.S. economists, one of them a 90-year-old professor emeritus from Minnesota, will share this year's Nobel prize in economics for their work on how people's knowledge and self-interest affect their behavior in the market or in social situations such as voting and labor negotiations. ...more

October 16, 2007