The Brian Mudd Show

The Brian Mudd Show

There are two sides to stories and one side to facts. That's Brian's mantra and what drives him to get beyond the headlines.Full Bio

 

Cheat Sheet Q&A: The sales tax increase, Avossa & local issues generally:

Cheat Sheet Q&A: The sales tax increase, Avossa & local issues generally:

Today's entry: Way to go, way to go! Excellent to speak out about the fraudulent tax, Avossa, and those who didn't understand. I have to admit Brian, for a while after the November election, I had begun to wonder where you had gone in regard to local issues. I read the Post as often as time allows, watch the local news stations, and the only- informative truth comes from you. I am from here, raised here, so I can say without reservation that this  particular school board has come under more fire than I can recall of all others. Of course, given the open and pathetically disguised level of corruption in the County Commission how could we expect more?

Brian, you have a strong core of support, as the aforementioned media shows itself to be quite biased, we turn to you as a voice for those of us in reality. Keep it up for all of us. And in closing, Happy Passover, Joel! 

Bottom Line: First, thank you for the support - that goes to everyone who's reached out with positive feedback. Contrary to how it may seem at times I take no joy in taking on the Palm Beach County School District or any other local entity. I wish they were more honest and transparent. With regard to my dissemination of local information / debate post November's election cycle - I'd focused my efforts on local election information and engagement among listeners who had races during the municipal election cycle in an effort to improve transparency and accountability with voters. If you were listening the day after the election you may have heard me mention that at some point around 2 am that morning I looked at Ashley and cited the irony of Republicans having the best overall performance nationally that they'd had since the 1920's and locally we received two tax increases (we live in Lake Worth - which we love this side of the taxes). 

I was upset that the proponents of the 16.7% sales tax increase, led by the School District's inherently dishonest "penny-tax" marketing scheme, was successful but at the time I thought that I had done what I could do in attempting to inform those who'd listened. I covered it on several occasions during the cycle including a special daily ballot feature in the week leading up to the election. As it turned out I didn't evidently come close to reaching the entire audience who listens to this show/Cheat Sheet. Numerous listeners reached out to me after the fact - many in early 2017 as the tax impact was initially being felt - who were caught off guard. If I had a penny for every person who told me they thought that the tax increase would just be a penny per purchase...ok, I'd probably only have a few bucks but you get the idea. 

My goal going forward is to improve transparency and accountability by encouraging your engagement and for listeners like you to engage those in your circle of influence who're persuadable to understand and make sound decisions based on facts not marketing schemes. As I've indicated many times with regard to the sales tax increase...Had the local politicians openly and honestly stated that it was a 1% increase, representing a 16.7% sales tax increase and made their case and won - I'd let it go. It's clear that many voted for it because of a marketing gimmick. Local politics is complicated. Palm Beach County has 39 municipalities, numerous unincorporated areas and the county-wide issues. I wish I were informed enough to engage in more than I do from an analytical perspective but I won't comment on issues I don't have command of and there's only so much locally that I do/can have command of along with the rest of the information flow. That's part of why it's important that listeners like you engage locally.

I don't want it to be lost that I love living here which is why I believe that it's worth fighting some of these accountability fights and it's not my goal to become the local news/opposition guy. My mission otherwise is the same as it always has been. To provide information that's helpful, useful and repeatable. Some of that's local and much of it is universal. 

If you have a topic or question you'd like me to address email me: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com


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