When Gov. Charlie Crist unveiled his economic stimulus initiative, Accelerate Florida, a couple months ago, it didn't attract much attention, let alone praise. And now that the governor is putting his plan into action, it still is receiving only a lukewarm response, largely because it is more show than substance.
The idea behind Accelerate Florida when it was unveiled in August was to take billions of dollars in public works projects — roads, bridges, school buildings and water projects — and fast-track them. The Crist administration projects that just the $1.4 billion roads and bridges portion he launched last Wednesday could create as many as 39,000 jobs. And with almost $30 billion in public works projects of all shapes and sizes already approved and funded by the Legislature, trying to get them going ahead of schedule makes sense, given the economic crisis the state is facing.
For the rest of this editorial, click here.
