Anthony Johnson: A health check of Alachua County

Letter to the editor

I heard about a guy who was pickle-balling one week and the next he was being lowered into the pit.

No one saw it coming because he always appeared fine and seemed very happy.

That is why regular checkups are important and can lead to early detection of underlying problems. Health checks and stress tests are common business practices.

This article contains health check data for Alachua County and paints a clear picture of our progress toward achieving our goal.

The goal is sordid, but it can be simplified: to create a culture where local government acts as a guarantor for blue-dog progressive ideas.

The specifics surrounding the goal’s development are beyond this article’s scope; however, I can share that trends revealed in the 2000 census data were instrumental in solidifying it.

At that time, the County was at the end of a 3-decade-long social engineering experiment that had failed to yield the desired results. However, the census data revealed something that had been happening surreptitiously, but nobody had seen any value in it.

The data indicated that the County had transitioned from a private sector to a government-oriented economy.

Over 40% of the County’s workforce was employed in some capacity by the government. Furthermore, 30% of the population relied almost entirely on government assistance, while 20% significantly benefited from a capital improvement imbalance that favored their community over neighboring areas.

The early 2000s saw the Gainesville/UF ‘Berkeley of the South’ label become more than just a slogan; activists saw the place as ripe for the pickings for a government takeover.

Around 2004, the political activists got elected and managed to convince voters, who were already too dependent on government, to hop aboard what I refer to as the “proverbial government rocket ship.” They encouraged everyone to strap in, get comfortable, and prepare for the takeoff. Out of respect for our government, no one asked, “Where are you taking us?”

They set the controls to autopilot, locked us in, and off we went. 

Now there will come times in most trips when the ‘Are we there yet?’ question gets asked, and this is no different. 

The answer lies in the perspective of the observer. For instance, if the government facilitating a flourishing nonprofit industrial complex over individual self-actualization means we are achieving our goal, then, for you, that may indicate we are almost there.

Fortunately, the political elites who set the county on this journey were bound by sunshine laws, which creates a data trail that can be used to obtain real-time health check information on the progress of their policies.

I don’t think pressing the health check button will cause any harm, so just for grins and giggles, I decided to push it to verify our current location and see how well we’re doing.

This is what came up on some of the Alachua County progress indicators at this point as we pursue the goal.

• Alachua County has done well rebranding itself from a private-sector job market to one that is government top-heavy.  
• The direction we are heading indicates we believe it is a myth that a local government built upon the strength of its private sector is like building on rock, while relying on grants and government jobs is akin to building on sand.
• On the surface, the poverty rate looks significantly higher than what you would like to see, but it is crucial that it remain high if we are to achieve our goals.
• Education and health services go hand in hand with big government.
• The Leisure and Hospitality number is surprising given we have a nice airport devoid of hotels.

Agenda items the BoCC spent the bulk of their time talking about in 2024  

We can achieve the goal through comprehensive planning.  

Several new county commissioners have been voted in to guide the ship since its launch, yet few have questioned career staff if it should be taken off auto-pilot.

Neglecting economic development aligns with our goal, but it carries risks, similar to the pickleballer who didn’t get regular checkups. As long as the grants keep coming in, we can maintain the appearance of being healthy and performing well.

Individuals in the private sector will interpret these health check indicators differently than those associated with the government.

I believe it is essential for our county to have these checkups regularly, and the Board of County Commissioners should ensure that we do.

Anthony Johnson, Gainesville

The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Assertions of facts in letters are similarly the responsibility of the author. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.