Randy Schultz

Has anyone wondered what happened to Randy Schultz, the former editor of the Palm Beach Post.

Find out by clicking here.

He joined them in March 2014 and has a blog called City Watch.

50 Years of JFK

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Read Randy Schultz' editorial in today's Palm Beach Post- one of his best ever.

50 years after JFK, seeking to restore government

Another shake-up at the Palm Beach Post

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Read about it.

Willie Howard has taken the two weeks severance per year of employment and Randy Schultz is thinking about it.  When you consider that this newspaper is so biased in its reporting, it developed problems with readership retainage.  Willie Howard, reporter and fine gentleman who had the Lake Worth beat for years, never allowed his politics to get in the way of his reporting.

The above article reports that Republicans were angered by it but the fact of the matter is, everyone I know and who are all Democrats, no longer take the paper.  Even a member of my family just recently subscribed to Wednesdays and Sundays after canceling it for nearly two years because of cost.  We all got hit by the economy. She is the most liberal Democrat I know and voted for Obama because the "other guy was a nerd."  And where did she get that idea?

It's all a business decision that comes down to money. Even though it is those 55 years of age or older who were offered the severance deal, it is not age that was the factor as they are keeping younger editors who are equally as biased--it is not left-leaning reporting as this is a heavily Democratic county albeit they did forget the 40% or so who are conservative--it was salaries, pure and simple.

Wikipedia describes the Palm Beach Post: The Palm Beach Post is a major American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 80th largest daily newspaper in the United States and the 7th largest in Florida and has been around since 1908.

I hate to see this happening and hope our newspaper survives. Businesses demand loyalty of its employees but when push comes to shove, it's always the bottom line.

Allen West writes Letter to the Editor of the Palm Beach Post

In his column last Sunday, Editor of the Editorial Page Randy Schultz asserted that he had yet to hear what alternative to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) I would support in the United States House of Representatives (“Replace ‘repeal’ cry with health care alternative”).

As I have said repeatedly, I support allowing parents to keep children on their insurance plans until age 26. Also, I support a ban on the denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions, which could be accomplished with creation of state high-risk pools. Further, I would recommend the following:

• Medical malpractice liability reform;

• Allow interstate sale of insurance to provide greater consumer choice;

• Allow individuals to form associations for the purposes of purchasing health insurance;

• Implement tighter controls to eliminate Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse;

• Repeal unnecessary and costly regulations, such as mandated benefits and rate regulations;

• Promote health savings and flexible spending accounts, don’t tax them

Mr. Schultz is also unaware that I co-sponsored two bills to help reduce costs. HR 5 and HR 3000 address medical liability reform and free-market policies and incentives to make insurance more affordable. HR 5 was passed by the House and awaits Senate consideration.

The PPACA will saddle Americans with 18 to 20 new taxes, reduce availability of Medicare treatment, increase premiums, cause millions of Americans to lose their employee coverage and put personal health care decisions in the hands of a panel of bureaucrats. I have voted to repeal or de-fund aspects of this law 33 times. Americans need health care reform, but this law is not the way to do it.

I hope readers recognize that Mr. Schultz is uninformed and unwilling to acknowledge my clearly stated support for free- market solutions that would improve our health care system rather than destroy it.

U.S. REP. ALLEN B. WEST

Washington

Editor’s note: Rep. Allen B. West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, represents Florida’s 22nd Congressional District.

Tax and Spend

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Once again, the Palm Beach Post editor is touting the tax and spend mentality of liberals and wrote about the fire assessment that is coming up for a vote in Delray Beach. Randy Schultz says that Delray has a better plan than did Lake Worth. Properties would be paying according to their size. What he failed to say, however, is that Lake Worth's fire assessment was NOT for fire services but rather a fire pension.

We have always said that 1) the fire assessment was unfair, taxing those in small units the same as someone in a 3,000 s.f. house, 2) taxing the poor the same rate as the rich, 3) grabbing the cash in order to raise revenue instead of cutting back on expenses and 4) opening up the opportunity to tax in subsequent years to meet expenditures instead of living within a normal budget.

Citizens are sick of taxes especially when we see a city over-buying and allowing inventory to become obsolete to over a million dollars at the Utility and uncollected code violation fines that were in the multi-millions of dollars. Instead of taxing to meet a budget, reduce the budget; stop the spending; stop the waste.

Tonight's Commission meeting - Lake Worth

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Two items of importance to the city--

Over this past year, the vast majority of the votes on the dais were 5/0. Where there was a divide was on the Budget and on the Casino. Even Maxwell, though voting against the special assessment, was not exactly against it. He wanted the advalorem taxes reduced by 1.3 mils to off-set the money grab. This would have given a break to those who could most afford to pay and those living in the most valued properties with the burden being on the poor, the churches and other non-profits. This is typical Republican mindset. Even he, in the beginning, did not object to opening up that can of worms although he did say, once you tax, it is almost impossible for that tax to ever go away.

Instead, the City Manager and the majority Commission agreed to the special assessment, future special assessments and did not reduce the advalorem. It has always been the principle behind the special assessment that bugged me. It was never about the money. Even the Palm Beach Post editorial agreed with the City of Lake Worth to grab the cash. Somehow the City convinced Andrew Marra on two occasions now and Randy Schultz that this was a fair tax. No longer do either one of these gentlemen need to use their key code, if they ever had one, to enter the city manager's office. It is back to being an "open door" friendly city hall, thanks to this "new" commission.

Tonight the vote on rescinding the special fire assessment (Public Hearings 9-F) is on the agenda. This is the main reason why we have a new mayor and new commissioner District 3. Let's hope that the new commission remembers.

We also will have the Johnny Longboats closing time that will be voted upon. Only one choice given in the backup--that of Snitkin, the real estate broker on the property and the city manager who says we must have them there late and into the morning hours in order for this building to be sustainable. We have to build a $6 million dollar building for a BAR. This is all the biggest crock of bull I have ever heard.

John G's was agreeable to paying the price per s.f. but the City has bent over backwards to a prospective tenant that is giving us the terms, ($22 per s.f to start) not the other way around. I talked to John G's at the time. The thinking was it might be $40 a s.f. and they were agreeable and they would keep the beach a family-friendly place as it's always been and close at 3pm. We were going to find another restaurant for the 2nd level for finer dining and dinner. Longboats says it will pay $1 mil in the build-out. Maybe, maybe not. There are always build-0ut costs. Even John G's in Manalapan re-did their entire space.

Shiny Objects - Cute and Catchy

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Commissioner Scott Maxwell coined the phrase which he attributes to some local politicians who, in his opinion, concentrate on the non-essentials. Is he right or is this just more cute but catchy political mumbo jumbo?

If we want to do the right thing in Lake Worth, this Commission should start immediately by cutting waste and stopping all unnecessary spending. End the creation of more shiny Boards and sunset some that we now have. If we can't trust our highly paid employees to make the right decisions, then hire some that we can trust who have the qualifications and the integrity necessary for Lake Worth who can think independently. We don't need people grabbing the cash, many times in the millions, without detailed line item explanations on the Financials, which we never get. Cut out the free lunch. The Commission would all do this IF they were all sincere about eliminating shiny objects and such. They would scrutinize those monthly Financials like there was no tomorrow and demand a Budget that is easy to navigate.

They can start with our Utility that obviously charges us way more than necessary otherwise we would not be able to get $10,000,000 (that's MILLION folks) transferred from it to the operating account to run the City. This is no shiny object matter. Service and efficiency should matter here but as Randy Schultz said this morning while writing on another matter, "Profit is the worst possible motive when it comes to public policy." According to experts, there are many unneeded millions in the Electric Plan that do not and should not be spent. Get to the bottom of those.

The electric rate calculator that was circulated by the Utility Department is just not computing for me. Now that IS something that they can correct without spending shiny objects.

Palm Beach Post gives Lake Worth Advice

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It's nice to open the editorial page of the Palm Beach Post and read advice from Randy Schultz on our fire assessment. The Post's editor, Andrew Marra, already said that the fire assessment was fair and now we have Mr. Schultz touting the same. Did the City send him a "whoa is me?"

Schultz suggests that we could "raid the reserves." Unfortunately the city manager spent most all of our reserves on things that were not emergencies. We have no clue as to where the money went. Monies were moved here and there and everywhere. We do have $25 million in capital projects this year. Something besides the beach and casino can be delayed. What about the three pensions that have a strong hold around the necks of every property owner in the city? We know what our problem is but it seems we are impotent to doing one thing about it and we settle for a nickel when it comes to the unions.

There is nothing "fair" or equitable about special assessments. There never was unless, of course, you are living under socialism. And although this country is becoming a tax and spend and Robin Hood state, there is nothing "just" about a special assessment with the poor paying exactly the same as the rich. The taxpaying people in our last elections told you that and they kicked your endorsement for mayor out the door.

Operate the city and live within a normal budget just like all the rest of us have to do in our personal lives. That should be your advice.

Unions have Frisked the Taxpayers long enough

Randy Schultz' excellent Editorial.

Mr. Schultz's editorial states the problem that we are all suffering--paying out-of-sight pension benefits that are bankrupting cities. We can relate to the horrible Union pensions first-hand here in Lake Worth. A past administration that agreed to these pension benefits has now triggered our present administration into passing a special assessment that we are told is to pay for them because the City can no longer afford them.

Schultz believes that cities deserve part of the blame. I believe that our city should get all of the blame. And to a big degree, it is elected officials who depend on Union campaign funds who I hold responsible and who ultimately sold the taxpayer down the river.

Andrew Marra, another editor at the PB Post agreed with Lake Worth's analogy that poor people should be paying for these pension costs just like the more affluent resident. He stated in an earlier editorial that we all should pay our "fair" share to pay for this service that is not a service but a pension. Today, however, he seems to have seen the light.

What would be fair is to have the Unions stop the money grab and get realistic but their argument is that they have a contract and they are sticking to it. Sad but true. Unions are the problem as well as all those who continue to allow them to get away with the money grab. What Lake Worth is doing by passing a special assessment for fire pensions is an easy way out and perpetuates the problem. Our elected officials won't listen to facts. I was told by our top administrator that I was part of the problem. The City got that one wrong too.

The Free Lunch

Well, Randy Schultz gets it!

As Lake Worth votes to raise taxes here, there and everywhere, it is too bad that Lake Worth staff and officials don't get it.

Read his editorial today, Budget Reality? Not for all.