Unfortunately, with a Republican Tallahassee, workers don't have many rights and employers and businesses (most of whom are Republican) can more readily take advantage of their employees. It's happened to me and a lot of other people I know, with dishonest employers lying about/trying to get out of paying due benefits, clocking their employees out early, and not paying their employees for the work that they do. Sarasota seems to be a magnet for the greedy/me-myself-and-I crowd. It's no conincidence that the "wanted" on "America's Most Wanted" usually were last seen in So. California or Florida. The transient and nonstatic population lends itself to being a land of opportunism, and there are plenty of dishonest people here, the poor/poorer committing robberies, breaking into houses, and the affluent committing white collar crimes (because apparently one can never have enough money). Politically, Sarasota is about 50/50 Republican/Democrat (very few Greens/progressives--and it shows). Money and appearances are paramount here. To generalize (and perhaps stereotype), the Republicans drive around in their big SUVS and Hummers, own businesses in which they underpay their employees, are the builders and real estate people whose money is god, think of nothing but "well-appointed" homes for their elite potential clients and how rich they can get off of it, and have no regard for the land; they water their lawns 3 x a week in spite of the water restrictions, so it can be ultra-green. And there are the "liberal" Democrats, who frequent downtown, the art scene, drive Priuses b/c it's chic to be seen doing so (yet in private are just as big environmental pigs as those of a conservative mindset and not a whole lot more progressive in actuality), and who also care a lot about appearances. When I was a kid we rode our bikes all over, neighborhoods were friendly and kids were close and played on the streets until dark. Now it's about whose grass is greener, what you can afford to own, and how that "reflects on you" as a person. Every cow pasture and orange grove is long gone and is now a development with houses built right on top of one another, complete with a fake lake dug so the builders can charge thousands more for "waterfront" property, and which soon fills up with alligators, for which the new residents invariably call animal control to come haul off and then kill. But clearly this is a lifestyle that many people like. It's not for me, and I hope to leave here some day as well, having long ago become disgusted with the area and what it has become. But to each his/her own.
Pam | Sarasota, FL | Report Abuse