Farid Khavari

Miami, FL Mar. 30 – Noted economist and Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate today called on Alex Sink, also a Democratic candidate, to withdraw from the governor’s race. “The poll numbers are bad enough, with Republican Bill McCollum 15 points ahead of Alex Sink,” Khavari said, referring to the March 29 Mason-Dixon Poll showing McCollum leading Sink by 49% to 34%. “But these poll numbers are really much worse than they seem.

“Florida has 17% more Democratic voters than Republican,” Khavari continued. “24% of Democrats already support the Republican. This is not because Democrats like McCollum. It is because Democrats simply don’t support Sink. If the race were evenly divided along party lines, Sink would be eight points ahead of McCollum.

“This means that 24% of Democrats prefer to vote for a Republican who was a 20-year Congressman on banking committees, then a lobbyist for the Mortgage Bankers of America, rather than a Democrat who is a multimillionaire retired banker. Even Democratic women don’t support Alex Sink.

“Democrats see through the rhetoric in Alex Sink’s ‘Business Plan’ and realize that the same old schmaltz didn’t create jobs before and it won’t create jobs now. If the Chief Financial Officer of Florida knew anything about creating jobs, why hasn’t she done anything about it? Over a million Floridians are out of work and she just found out about it?” Khavari said.

“Alex Sink was hand-picked by Democrat Party leaders, who lavished over $1.5 million on her campaign, without any input from Party members. We can’t afford crony politics in Florida any more, not with a million Floridians out of work and 800,000 foreclosures already, and worse to come. It is time for her to step aside,” Khavari said.

“My plan to create 1,000,000 new private-sector jobs in Florida, without subsidies, is spelled out in detail. Voters from all parties support it because everyone can understand that it will work. And, above all, we need jobs, jobs, and more jobs here in Florida. We can get them with my plan,” Khavari said.

Another aspect of Khavari’s Economic Plan, the creation of a state-owned bank, has received national acclaim. Since it was announced, gubernatorial candidates in five other states have included proposals for state-owned banks in their campaigns. The proposed Bank of the State of Florida would slash interest costs for state and local governments, and for all Floridians as well, while turning a profit for the state. “This is common-sense economics,” Khavari said. “2010 is about economics, not crony politics.”

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is a respected economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His Economic Plan for Florida is at www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Farid Khavari

Miami, FL   — Noted economist Farid Khavari, a  Democratic candidate for Florida governor, has gained national and international attention for his plan to create a state-owned bank in Florida.

“Not since the Great Depression has it been so clear,” said Khavari. “We need banks that work for the benefit of the people, not people working for the benefit of the banks. There is no mystery why we are facing another depression: the banks got greedy and stupid, and now they are making us pay for it.

“The economy is collapsing due to lack of demand. The economy needs money, but the banks are cutting credit, and then sucking all the cash out of the economy by raising interest rates to make sure no one has any cash left at the end of the month. The cost of interest is built into the cost of everything. People already work ten years of their lives just to pay interest in one form or another. The Bank of the State of Florida will end that for Floridians. And this model will work for every state.

“We can start the BSF at no cost to taxpayers. We can pay 6% interest on savings. Using the same fractional reserve rules as all banks, we can create $900 of new money through loans for every $100 in deposits. We can loan that $900 in the form of 2% fixed rate 15-year mortgages, for example, and the state can earn $12 every year for every $100 in deposits. That means Floridians can save tens of billions of dollars per year while the state earns billions making it possible for them.

“2% fixed-rate mortgages will create a thousand times more jobs than any so-called stimulus can.  By reducing the total interest cost on a home by over 85%, the average family will save hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that money stays in Florida,” Khavari said.

“State and local government budgets will balance without higher taxes when the BSF cuts interest costs,” Khavari said. “6% BSF credit cards will save people billions per month, money that stays in Florida instead of going to the big banks—and the state will make huge profits on that, too.  Saving billions in interest costs will create millions of jobs without subsidies just by keeping those billions circulating in Florida. Eventually the state will earn enough to reduce and eliminate state and local taxes while every Floridian has economic security in a recession-proof Florida.”

Asked whether a state-owned bank is socialism, Khavari smiled. “Are public schools socialism? Public roads, police and fire protection, municipal water? Socialism is where everyone works for the state. In these cases, and with our Bank of the State of Florida, the state is working for everyone. I call that general capitalism.”

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is an economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download at his website, www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Bill McCollum

With state Sen. Paula Dockery set to jump into the race for governor today, Attorney General Bill McCollum was endorsed by former Gov. Jeb Bush — the most influential voice in the Florida Republican Party.

Then his campaign office put out the Bush endorsement.

“I am proud to support my friend Bill McCollum as Florida’s next Governor,” Bush said. “At this critical time in our state’s history, we need a chief executive who will meet our challenges head on and stay true to the core conservative principles of limited government, fiscal discipline and the protection of liberty tempered by personal responsibility.”

Bush, who was governor from 1999 to 2007, called the attorney general “a tested and accomplished leader.”

At his news conference on the travel taxes and debt regulation proposals, McCollum turned aside questions about Dockery’s challenge. He said he is concentrating fully on Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the Democratic candidate for governor.

Dockery, who has been in the Legislature since 1996, has been testing the waters for several months. She won’t be term-limited out of the Senate until 2012 but would have to give up the last two years of her legislative term to run for governor.

Her candidacy is another major blow to the Republican Party’s announced efforts to avoid costly and divisive primary battles and concentrate on November of 2010.

Gov. Charlie Crist has drawn a tough challenge from former House Speaker Marco Rubio in the U.S. Senate race and Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, running for McCollum’s Cabinet seat, faces an intra-party challenge from Holly Benson of Pensacola, former director of the Agency for Health Care Administration, who announced her candidacy last week.

Miami, FL – Oct. 26, 2009   Noted economist Farid Khavari, a Democratic candidate for Florida governor in 2010, today discussed his plans for health care reform in Florida.

“No matter what health care reform plan Congress and the Obama administration come up with, the states will pay the price and we need to be ready,” said Khavari. “Florida will have 700,000 to 1,200,000 new Medicaid clients, with similar increases in other states. We can expect the mandate from Washington to be unfunded or inadequately funded. This will be a crushing burden on the states unless we have a comprehensive solution to improve health care quality and access, and reduce costs.”

Khavari has gained national attention for his innovative economic plans, including a proposed state-owned bank to slash interest costs in Florida, and a program to create one million private-sector jobs in Florida without subsidies. He addressed health care reform in his books Vultures (1987), Environomics (1995) and Toward a Zero-Cost Economy (2009).  Some of his concepts have surfaced in the current national scramble for health care reform.

“Health care is one area where improving efficiency actually improves quality. We can have universal access, top quality care, drastically lower costs—and doctors, nurses and other personnel can earn more with less stress,” Khavari said. “The key is restructuring the delivery system. We can leave practicing medicine to the doctors, not the lawyers or bureaucrats or insurance companies. We can eliminate any form of rationing. We can eliminate redundancy and red tape that add costs and take away from quality health care.” Details including a new clinic model are at www.khavariforgovernor.com.

“We need to slash insurance costs by 30% or more,” Khavari said. “Forcing everyone to buy health insurance will not lower costs, it will just hand a huge piece of the GDP to the insurance companies and destroy our economy. Insurance companies have no interest in improving care or reducing costs. They make a profit regardless. If costs are higher, their business grows. If they could make the same profit at half the price, they wouldn’t do it, because it would shrink the size of their business. Everything from stock prices to executive bonuses is keyed to growth.

“There already is a ‘public option’ called Medicaid. The state is already in the health insurance business. When we restructure our delivery system for Medicaid, we will have doctors rushing to work with us, a quality of care second to none, and costs per patient far lower than we have now. We can offer access to this system to everyone, much cheaper than private health insurance. The insurance companies can join us in lowering costs and improving care, or they can face unbeatable competition from the people. Health insurance cannot continue to suck the lifeblood out of our economy,” Khavari said. “And we will not stand for drug companies charging higher prices in Florida than they do in Canada.

“Restructuring our health care delivery system will create about 200,000 good jobs in Florida, which will cost nothing because they will be paid for by health care savings,” Khavari said.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is a noted economist and author of nine books. His latest, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download at the website.

Miami, FL  Oct. 14 — Noted economist Farid Khavari, a  Democratic candidate for Florida governor, has gained national attention for his plan to create a state-owned bank in Florida. Khavari’s plan to create one million private-sector jobs inFlorida without subsidies has won enthusiastic praise at each stop on the campaign trail, and in national media.

You might think Khavari would be a featured speaker at Florida’s statewide Democratic Convention, but you would think wrong. Hundreds of delegates to last week’s convention in Orlando were surprised to learn that Khavari and six other candidates were running for governor. “State Chairperson Karen Thurman chose Alex Sink several months ago to be the anointed candidate for governor,” said Khavari. “She did not consult with any of the county party organizations. At the convention, neither I nor any of the other candidates for governor were even acknowledged or introduced.

“I met hundreds of delegates who thought Sink was the only candidate, and who were outraged that the state Party did not even inform them that there were other candidates,” Khavari continued. “It’s the same story when I visit the county party organizations. The members are angry that Karen Thurman is the dictator of the Democratic Party in Florida. They have no say in anything the state party does.

“The Democratic Party in Florida is as democratic as the former Soviet Union or modern-day Iran.  The bosses choose the candidates. That’s not how it’s supposed to work in America,” Khavari said. “Meanwhile, as Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink allowed the state’s retirement funds to lose $60 Billion in phony deals that made hundreds of millions for Wall Street sharks. How could she ever top that as governor? Another million people unemployed, 300,000 more foreclosures, another $60 Billion lost?

“Sink’s famous plan to cut use of Blackberries by her employees covers the interest on $60 Billion for 34 minutes. What’s her plan to get a million Floridians back to work? What’s her plan to earn back $60 Billion before the taxpayers need to pass the hat and pay over $3,000 for every man, woman and child in Florida for her previous leadership?

“Fortunately, in spite of being crowned by Boss Thurman, it looks like Sink will not win in the primary next August,” Khavari added. “You can’t cover up $60 Billion forever.”

Besides Khavari and Sink, six other Democrats are running for governor: Joe Allen, Peter Allen, Michael Arth, Philip Kennedy, Anthony Knox, Sr, and Mark Shephard.

Candidates for the U.S. Senate were snubbed, too. “Thurman anointed Kendrick Meek as her choice for U.S. Senate, ignoring five others,” Khavari said. Also registered for the U.S. Senate race are Democrats Connie Brown, Tyrone Brown, Sr., Kevin Burns, Chuck Lunch and Lawrence Penpek.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph.D. is an economist and author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download at his website, www.khavariforgovernor.com.

Miami, FL (MMD Newswire) September 9, 2009 – - Noted economist Farid A. Khavari, a Democratic candidate in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial race, today labeled Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum “a dangerous Gang of Three.”

Citing the recently-reported $266 million lost in just one more bad deal by Florida’s State Board of Administration (SBA), Khavari said, “This is just a tiny part of $50 billion in SBA losses that we know of. The Gang of Three are the SBA’s three trustees. Now two of them are candidates for Governor and our Governor has appointed a crony to keep a U.S. Senate seat warm for him until 2010. We can and we must stop them in the 2010 primaries, if not sooner by impeachment.”

CFO Sink, Democrat, and Attorney General McCollum, Republican, are candidates for Governor. Governor Crist, Republican, is running for the U.S. Senate. Their current positions make them the three trustees of the SBA. “Two years ago the SBA had $138 billion. In March, 2009 they had about $83 billion. They didn’t lose this money in blue-chip stocks. They blew it in phony derivatives and so-called investments that no normal person would even consider, earning tens or hundreds of millions for Wall Street thieves,” Khavari said. “Now they want us to believe that these so-called securities, most of which have no market, have rebounded by $26 billion in the past five months? How stupid do they think the people are?”

Khavari blasted the media. “Instead of doing their jobs, the Gang of Three were out collecting millions in campaign contributions from lobbyists and special interests while the SBA lost over $50 billion, a million Floridians lost their jobs, and a million Floridians lost their homes. The media are dazzled by the millions in contributions, charmed by Sink taking away Blackberries from state employees, and have all but declared the Gang of Three the only candidates for these offices. Not one of them has even hinted at a plan to clean up the mess. The media continue to cover-up $50 billion in losses and print whatever lies they tell about the SBA funds.

“Negligence, stupidity, or corruption? I don’t know,” said Khavari, “but the results are the same. We need to get the Gang of Three out of public office if we are ever going to revive Florida’s economy, put a million people back to work, and slash interest, insurance and energy costs for the governments and people of Florida without higher taxes. The Gang of Three has got to go.”

Khavari continued, “Now these geniuses, fresh from losing $266 million in just one shaky real estate deal, want to invest in Florida real estate for profit. Until we fix the economy, who could ever buy these properties from the state?”

Khavari’s economic plan for Florida, including a publicly-owned bank, has gained national attention since it was released in July.

Khavari praised as an exception a series of articles by four-time Pulitzer winner Sydney P. Freedberg published in the St. Petersburg Times and archived online at www.tampabay.com/writers/sydney-p-freedberg.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph. D., is the author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download atwww.khavariforgovernor.com, where details of his economic plan can be found

Miami, FL (MMD Newswire) August 31, 2009 – - Noted economist Farid A. Khavari announced that he is a Democratic candidate in the 2010 Florida gubernatorial race. “I have published a complete plan to revive Florida’s economy and make Florida recession-proof,” said Khavari. “We can put 700,000 Floridians back to work. The state can earn billions providing 2% mortgages and 6% credit cards. We can cut insurance costs by 30% across the board, and reduce energy costs. All together, an average Florida family will own their home 15 years sooner and save $200,000 in interest, insurance and energy costs with this plan. State and local governments will save billions per year. We can do this without higher taxes.” Khavari’s proposal for a publicly-owned bank has attracted national attention since it was announced in July.

“What other candidate even has a plan?” asked Khavari. “All we read in the papers is how much money they have raised, not a word about any plans except to get elected.”

Khavari cited Alex Sink and Bill McCollum as examples. “Alex Sink is Chief Financial Officer of Florida. She is one of three trustees of the State Board of Administration. In the past two years this fund has lost over $50 billion, about 40% of its value. This is outrageous but it is being covered up.”

When asked how a $50 billion loss could be covered up, Khavari replied, “That’s easy. The other two trustees of the SBA are the Attorney General and the Governor.” CFO Sink is now a Democratic candidate for Governor, Attorney General McCollum is a Republican candidate for Governor, and Gov. Charlie Crist is running for the U.S. Senate.

The State Board of Administration is custodian of funds from about 1,000 state and local government entities in Florida including pension funds for state and municipal workers. “Whether this is negligence, stupidity or corruption, I cannot say,” said Khavari, “but they didn’t lose this money buying blue chip stocks. They lost it playing in high-risk derivatives and other trades that no sane person would consider.

“My plan will earn $50 billion for the state, and much more, without higher taxes. Who else has a plan? The media are dazzled by which candidate has raised the most money. Do you think those millions came from ordinary people? The media made a big scandal over $50,000 worth of rides in state airplanes, but this $50 billion loss is a million times bigger and the media are helping to cover it up.”

Khavari noted as an exception a series of articles by four-time Pulitzer winner Sydney P. Freedberg published in the St. Petersburg Times and archived online atwww.tampabay.com/writers/sydney-p-freedberg.

Farid A. Khavari, Ph. D., is the author of nine books, including Environomics. His latest book, Toward a Zero-Cost Economy, is available in stores or for free download atwww.khavariforgovernor.com.