COMMENTARY

MILT THOMAS

We humans possess many unique abilities that set us apart beyond opposable thumbs and a written language. Our ability to express and understand complex ideas is probably the most prominent. So why is it that every day we see evidence that regardless of our intellect, we humans can believe things that simply don’t square to the facts.

I’m sure people are tired of blaming George Bush for the mess in Iraq and now put the blame squarely on Obama’s shoulders for spreading it to Syria (and as of last weekend, Paris). Any student of history armed with the realities of Middle Eastern politics could have predicted everything that has happened since we invaded Iraq in 2002.

Moving to the local scene, anyone conversant in contract law knows the original deal with FPL is no longer possible. Three and a half years ago, Mark Schumann knew it and made the mistake of publishing that information in the Scripps-owned Vero Beach Newsweekly. It didn’t sit well with Scripps management since Scripps endorsed the deal and the president of Scripps Treasure Coast was married to an executive of FPL. That is old news like the invasion of Iraq, but alas, it is still true.

Because Mark knew the truth, he continued to update the facts through this online news magazine, InsideVero, three and a half years after he first explained why the deal could not happen. Yet, the prospect of that deal between FPL and Vero Electric is STILL on the front burner, still advocated by the lone City Council member who supported it from the beginning and now joined by a second advocate who convinced enough voters (50 more than his opponent as it turns out) that the deal would happen in spite of the facts.

So, to all you believers out there, especially those who live within the Vero Beach city limits, my question is: What will it take for you to stop believing a failed premise? Consider the fallout if this deal had happened — Vero Electric, the city’s largest asset, would have been sold at a loss (minus $26 million was the last offer from FPL); the financial engine responsible for helping to fund Vero’s outstanding government services and keeping property taxes among the state’s lowest would grind to a halt; Vero Beach property owners would face skyrocketing taxes or as an alternative, the city would be forced to declare bankruptcy? All this in the hopes of reducing your electric bill by 20 percent?

I have seen Facebook postings and Letters to the Editor from people advocating the sale to FPL and claiming their electric bills will be cut by as much as 50 percent. Who can blame them though when their elected officials and pro-FPL activists assure them the sale will go through when they themselves know it won’t.

The oft-quoted phrase, originally attributed to Hitler, or Goebbels or Joe down the street, certainly applies here: “Tell a lie often enough and it will be believed.” It is one thing to believe the earth is flat, but just Googling the facts while on your around-the-world cruise will change that belief.  What will it take to believe the sale of Vero Electric to FPL is dead?