Issue Position: Waste

Issue Position

Stop paying for duplicated services with taxpayer funds.
Use the savings to address other needs, such as: balance the underfunded State pension plans; pay for the building of the salt water desalinization plants; and/or lowering the cost of tuition.
In regards to waste, I am referring to the misuse of taxpayer funds.

Constantly I am approached by neighbors having concerns about citizens abusing our safety net system; i.e. unemployment, food stamps, WIC, rental & utility reductions or abatement, etc. In conversations I have had with friends relying on these safety nets, they have described how many services are duplicated. I am grateful we have these safety nets. So many would have seen total ruin if not for them. I am not saying they are operated perfectly, but we can make sure we aren't paying for the same services twice!

By addressing this issue, we can make sure those in need get help while saving taxpayer funds. These savings could be used for a variety of other pressing needs, such as: catching up and balancing the various State of Florida pension plans; building the salt water desalinization plants; or lowering the cost of tuition for students.

I intend to use my experience of budgeting and contracting with governments to identify these areas of duplication so that changes can be made. I have applied this principle many times when creating a budget. At one non-profit, we identified and eliminated unnecessary expenditures and it enabled us to provide better, less expensive care. The result was that in just one year, we went from a $5 million dollar deficit to a budget surplus. We did this just by working with the funds we had, not by throwing extra money at a broken system.

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